Freedom was fleeting today for a male nanny jailed on charges of molesting a Morningside Heights toddler under his care.
Uncuffed on a technicality in a Manhattan courtroom after prosecutors couldn’t meet a deadline for indicting him, Richard Figueroa, 23, was quickly recuffed and re-arrested on new felony child porn possession charges.
He spent his one minute of freedom on a courtroom bench, wiping tears away with his sleeve until the handcuffs went on again. Figueroa will remain in jail in lieu of $200,000 bail and is scheduled to be arraigned tomorrow on the new charges, which involve piles of porn officials say they found on his computer.
Meanwhile, he remains on the hook for allegedly molesting the little boy over the course of being his nanny through ages 2, 3 and 4.
Now 5, the boy is suffering from “the inherent difficulties” of testifying before a grand jury, lead prosecutor Emily Ching said in court.
Under deadlines set by state law, Figueroa could no longer be jailed without an indictment — but the molestation charges still stand against him.
Officials are “continuing efforts to facilitate the child’s ability to partake in the grand jury process,” the prosecutor said.