NEW YORK, March 24 (UPI) -- A 19-year-old former counselor at a New York Catholic day camp has been indicted on charges he assaulted a mute 8-year-old autistic child, officials said.
Francesco Zaffuto was hit with a 104-count indictment Wednesday that included charges of sexual assault and child pornography, the New York Post reported.
Prosecutors said Zaffuto used his mother's iPhone to take "trophy photos" of the victim at a Staten Island Catholic day camp over two days in August 2008.
Sources told the newspaper that Zaffuto, then a student at St. Joseph by the Sea High School, was recommended for the job by then-Principal Monsignor Joseph Ansaldi.
"It's shocking," Ansaldi said. "I don't remember doing it. If I did, I did it on the basis of what I saw of him in class, and I never saw anything out of the ordinary."
Prosecutors said the iPhone's GeoTag feature showed the time and place where the photographs were taken and that the pictures showed the alleged victim wearing camp clothing.
Zaffuto showed up in court carrying "The Complete Works of Lewis Carroll," the Post said. Carroll was obsessed with photographing naked children, the newspaper said.
