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Charles Harrison Streep, 31, allegedly assaulted his 18-year-old victim, David Peralta, in the parking lot of a Chase Bank on Main Street in East Hampton on Monday, Aug. 24, causing “serious head trauma,” police said.
On Wednesday, Oct. 27, lawyers for Peralta released videos of the incident, which show the much larger Streep lifting and slamming Peralta to the ground like a rag doll.
The two can be seen exchanging words in the video after Streep blew through a stop sign and nearly caused a collision, before the two got physical, with the older Streep overpowering his smaller opponent.
"He starts coming at me, pushing me," Peralta told DailyMail. "He said: 'you're just Spanish I'm going to slam you to the ground…' (after that) I don't remember much because I went unconscious.''
Prosecutors noted that at the time of the attack, Peralta's 17-year-old girlfriend was on hand pleading with Streep to stop.
The teenager was airlifted to Stony Brook Hospital within an hour after the attack, where he underwent emergency surgery that included the removal of his skull cap to stem bleeding from his brain.
His lawyers say that he is now suffering from cognitive issues and is “facing a long and uncertain recovery.”
On top of the civil lawsuit, Streep’s victim’s lawyers said they plan to ask the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office to prosecute the assault as a hate crime.
“Equally as appalling as the assault, Streep spewed racial epithets during the attack on our Hispanic client, which was captured on video and reviewed by detectives,” they said.
“We find it exceedingly ironic that Streep, who’s family, including his famous aunt, purport to sympathize with the plight of immigrants and working-class people everywhere, would unleash this violent and racially charged attack on this innocent, hardworking young man.”
Streep was arrested early on Thursday, Aug. 27 at a Pondview Lane residence in East Hampton, and charged with felony counts of assault and strangulation. He was arraigned and released on $5,000 bail.
He pleaded not guilty to the charges and is scheduled to appear in court on Thursday, Oct. 5.
Streep is a 2007 graduate of New Canaan High School and is the son of Meryl Streep’s brother.
He played lacrosse for the University of Virginia, according to the school’s website.
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