'Cookie Monster' makes deal in alleged toddler-shoving case

NEW YORK, Feb. 12 (UPI) -- A man accused of shoving a toddler while dressed as Cookie Monster in New York's Times Square has agreed to serve one day of community service.

Prosecutors reached a deal Tuesday with Osvaldo Quiroz-Lopez, 33, to dismiss the reckless endangerment charges stemming from the April 7 incident provided he completes one day of community service, the New York Post reported Wednesday.

"I have always been innocent," Quiroz-Lopez said as he left Manhattan Criminal Court. "And there's video to prove my innocence -- that I never had contact with the child."

Parmita Katkar, an actress from India, had accused Quiroz-Lopez of shoving her 2-year-old son, Samar, to the ground while the man was dressed as "Sesame Street" character Cookie Monster in Times Square. Katkar said Quiroz-Lopez became irate when she told him she did not have any cash to pay him for posing for a photo with the boy.

"I took this because I'm really tired of this and just want to move on with my life," Quiroz-Lopez said.