Violent vagrant has terrorized NYC neighborhood for a decade -- but somehow remains free

Publish date: 2024-07-20

He’s a Greenpoint goon who just won’t go away.

A 33-year-old vagrant with a lengthy rap sheet has been the bane of a Brooklyn neighborhood for nearly a decade, with complaints of shoplifting, slugging women and threatening local merchants at will – and yet he remains free to continue to wreak havoc.

Registered sex offender Christopher Boissard has been such a long-running menace in Greenpoint that one shop owner keeps a metal rod handy so he can chase him away when he shows up at the door.

Christopher Boissard, 33, has been menacing locals in Greenpoint for a decade, but has been able to dodge prison. Michael Nagle for NY Post
Christopher Boissard, 33, is “deaf and mute” and unable to use sign language, according to state court records. Michael Nagle for NY Post

“The rod is especially for this guy,” neighborhood bodega owner Babu Davnath said. “He comes in the store screaming and tries to hit people. Everybody’s scared of this guy.

“Many times he’s punched women in the face inside the store and outside on the sidewalk,” Davnath said. “He is very dangerous. He’s stolen from my store many times — beer, food, whatever he wants. This has been happening for the last eight years, maybe more.”

Explore More

The NYPD says Boissard has been arrested by cops a dozen times since 2022 alone and sent to court for arraignment every time — only to be released.

In all, he has been busted 39 times since 2011 on charges that have ranged from assault to robbery to criminal mischief, records show — and has two dozen incidents where he was listed as an emotionally disturbed person.

According to court records, Boissard, who was registered as a level 3 sex offender after he was convicted of molesting a 19-year-old woman in 2021, is “deaf and mute” and does not know sign language, making it difficult to communicate.

As a result, he’s fallen through the cracks of the system.

His arrests have typically only risen to the level of misdemeanors, which carry a maximum sentence of one year at Rikers Island — which means he has always been able to dodge more serious prison time.

In addition, sources said Boissard was been deemed unfit for trial after court-ordered psychiatric exams as recently as last year, which, by law, required prosecutors to drop the misdemeanor cases against him.

That’s expected to be the case with his last bust — an assault charge stemming from a July 19 incident when he allegedly walked up behind a woman in the neighborhood and slugged her in the head.

Had he been charged with felonies, the charges would have stuck until he underwent treatment and was determined to be fit enough to stand trial and face the charges.

Babu Davnath, who owns 1068 Mini Mart Deli in Greenpoint, has a metal rod he uses to fend off local menace Christopher Boissard, 33, who has harassed locals in the neighborhood for the past 10 years. Gregory P. Mango for NY Post

“Every resident in our city deserves to live in safety and peace,” a spokesperson for the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office said in a statement to The Post on Monday. “This individual, who suffers from numerous illnesses, received court-ordered services through the years.”

“Unfortunately, those services are no longer available to him,” the statement said. “It is now necessary for the city to step up and offer him the assistance he clearly needs.”

Court records show his troubling criminal history predates his 2021 sex assault rap by several years.

Boissard was charged with sneaking up behind a woman he didn’t know on Jan. 23, 2017, “slammed her against a wall” and groped her, according to a 2022 state Appellate Division review of the cases.

The woman called 911, and cops later found he had two switchblades on him, the records show.

The Franchesca Mini Mart is among the Greenpoint stores where Christopher Boissard has become a local menace. Gregory P. Mango for NY Post

A few days later, on Feb. 3, 2017, Boissard was back on the street and spotted the woman from across the street, and “ran toward her, stopped and stared at her,” but took off before cops arrived at the scene, according to the document.

Later that year, he pleaded guilty to sexual abuse and forcible touching in the case and was sentenced to alcohol treatment, spending time at rehab facilities in Rochester and Atlanta, Georgia — and was told he would serve up to four years in prison if he flunked out.

In May 2018, Boissard “relapsed and was expelled” from the Atlanta program, but was allowed to “restart the year of treatment” in Rochester, the appellate ruling said.

Greenpoint locals have taken to social media to voice frustration over Christopher Boissard, a local man who is the subject of constant neighborhood complaints.

Despite not fully finishing the court-ordered treatment, he was eventually sentenced to jail time he had already served behind bars and was released — and was free to assault the 19-year-old woman that landed him on the sex offender registry on July 4, 2021, according to the court records.

Back on the streets, he continues to be a constant menace in Greenpoint, locals said.

“He’s always looking for trouble,” said William Rodrigues, who runs Franchesa Mini Mart on Manhattan Avenue. “He hits ladies. He is very dangerous for ladies.

“He gets arrested and then let back out, sometimes on the same day,” Rodrigues said. “Without drugs and alcohol — the days he’s sober — he’s nice enough. He has a good heart but with drugs and alcohol, he becomes crazy.

“The whole neighborhood recognizes him because he bothers everyone,” he added.

This Greenpoint store is one of several in the neighborhood that has complained about local menacing by Christopher Boissard, 33, according to area residents and merchants. Gregory P. Mango

Local complaints about Boissard’s alleged exploits have spilled over to social media, where area residents have shared horror stories about encounters with their troublesome neighbor.

One 43-year-old woman said Boissard chased her down the street with clenched fists in November 2022, forcing her to cancel a scheduled invitro fertilization appointment.

“I saw him running after me with his fists clenched,” the woman wrote. “I had to run across the street to get away from him. I was so terrified, I started to cry.

The NYPD says they have arrested Christopher Boissard a dozen times since 2022, but he has managed to dodge serious jail time, much to the frustration of local residents. Michael Nagle

“The police took a statement but nothing ever happened,” she said. “I have not been there again. I don’t go to eat around that part of Greenpoint anymore, I get takeout.”

A nearby liquor store worker, who wished to remain anonymous, said Boissard grew up in the neighborhood and now lives in the area with his father.

“He’s lived around here his whole life,” the woman said. “Occasionally they come, pick him up and take him to Woodhull [psychiatric hospital].”

Samuel Soto, 65, who lives on Manhattan Avenue, said Boissard groped his wife eight years ago. 

“He touched my wife on the tuchus,” Soto told The Post. “I gave him one right hook and that was it, we didn’t have a problem after that. He doesn’t respect women. 

“But now he respects me and when he see my wife coming he looks the other way,” he said. “He’s a good kid and his parents seem nice but he’s got a drinking problem. He should be in a place where they can look after him, where he can’t cause trouble, where he can’t touch anyone.”

The Post has reached out to Boissard’s family for comment.

ncG1vNJzZmimqaW8tMCNnKamZ2Jlf3V7j2xmanBfqsBuusSwqmiumaS5prrTZq2an6KWu7V5x5qqZqyVp7%2BwvsiznJ1lnq6wbrrEop6hmp%2BntbC7w2adqKpdlnqlscKam55lkqrBbr%2FOppyhp6div6a5wKKlrGWWp7Kmew%3D%3D