Yonkers man sentenced to 17 ½ years in beating of Asian woman

Esco pleaded guilty to assault in the first degree as a hate crime in March.

News 12 Staff

Nov 29, 2022, 11:13 PM

Updated 745 days ago

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A Yonkers man has been sentenced to prison for the beating of a 67-year-old Asian woman.
Tammel Esco, 42, was sentenced in Westchester County Court to 17 1/2 years in prison followed by five years of post-release supervision.
An order of protection has also been issued and will be in place until May 2053.
Esco pleaded guilty to assault in the first degree as a hate crime in March.
It was caught on surveillance camera in the lobby of the apartment building where he and the victim both lived.
Esco shouted a racial slur and is seen punching the Filipino victim unprovoked more than 100 times, repeatedly stomping her body and then spitting on her.
Cameras were not permitted during the victim's impact statement, but the woman was said to have broken down several times and thanked the first responders who saved her life.
She had to be treated for bleeding on the brain, multiple facial fractures, bruising and lacerations to the head and face.
The victim also decided to move from their home of 24 years after losing her peace of mind and out of fear for their safety.
Judge Anne Minihan said Esco was raised in foster care and struggles with mental health and substance abuse and encouraged him to seek treatment in an effort to express remorse during his lengthy sentence.
"What struck me was when it was done, how exhausted you were. You could see that you were breathing heavily because a beating that severe took that much of your energy to do. It is nothing short of a miracle she is still with us today," said Judge Minihan.
The unprovoked attack is one of many against the Asian community in recent years.
This one was successfully prosecuted as a hate crime, a charge that requires a high burden of proof.
"The fact that a member of particular protected group is targeted understandably makes an entire community for more insecure that doesn't necessarily mean we can charge it as a hate crime," says Westchester District Attorney Mimi Rocah.
The Westchester District Attorney's Office is in the process of developing a hate crime portal to aggregate information across county agencies to help prosecute cases.
Esco does have the right to appeal his sentencing within 30 days. His attorneys tell News 12 there are no current plans to do that.