A registered sex offender who has been described as a “gloved beast” and whose continued incarceration requires the intervention of the New York governor has been charged with a misdemeanor.
Thursday in Bronx Criminal Court, 55-year-old Bui Van Phu, a registered sex offender who has spent six years in jail with release for life, appeared.
According to court documents obtained by DailyMail.com, Phu is now charged with second-degree assault.
The August 12 attack by Van Phu in the Bronx left 52-year-old Jesus Cortes with a cracked skull and a brain bleed.
Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark issued the following statement: ‘The defendant, a parolee, reportedly struck a man once, causing him to fall and sustain severe injuries. As a result of an inquiry, the defendant was charged with Assault in the second degree. Thankfully, the victim is making progress in his recuperation. I have met with him and his family, and we are also providing them with crime victim services.’
DailyMail.com has reached out to Kathy Hochul, the governor of New York, for comment.
A convicted sex offender who has been described as a “gloved beast” and who required intervention from the governor of New York to remain behind bars has been released.
Thursday, Bui Van Phu, 55, a registered sex offender who served six years in jail with lifetime parole, was released on supervised release without bail from Bronx Criminal Court.
Van Phu was arraigned in Bronx Supreme Court before George Vilegas (pictured).
According to court documents acquired by DailyMail.com, Phu is now charged with third-degree assault and second-degree harassment.
The allegations are based on the fact that Phu “intentionally (inflicted) physical injury and with the goal to harass, irritate, or frighten another individual.”
After the horrifying assault was captured on film, authorities lowered Bui’s charges to a misdemeanor and initially released him without bond.
Van Phu was jailed for attempted murder after hitting a restaurant patron, breaking his skull, and causing a brain bleed.
Van Phu’s bail was set at $100,000 cash, although he was not required to remain in detention.
According to court documents acquired by DailyMail.com, Phu is a registered sexual offender who was convicted of armed rape on December 24, 1994. Above is a gallery of mugshots from his sexual offender profile.
Jesus Cortes, 52, sustained a broken skull and a cerebral hemorrhage after Van Phu Bui, 55, attacked him earlier this year.
After the horrifying assault was captured on tape, prosecutors lowered Bui’s charges to a misdemeanor and released him without bail.
Despite the police releasing the CCTV film, they asserted that the evidence at the time only supported misdemeanor charges.
However, he was subsequently incarcerated after New York Governor Kathy Hochul asked prosecutors to enhance the charges against him.
She asserted that the assault and arrest constituted a violation of his lifetime parole for the sex offense.
The Bronx District Attorney’s Office had requested that his charges be upgraded to felonies.
Juan Cortes, the brother of the victim, was present at the hearing.
The victim’s brother, Juan Cortes, was present at the hearing.
Jesus Cortes, 52, the brother of Juan, was left with a shattered skull and a brain bleed following the August 12 Bronx attack by Van Phu.