NYC man gets 25 years in prison for slamming 6-year-old head first onto pavement

What to Know

• A Queens man was sentenced Thursday to 25 years in prison for a random assault years ago that left child with a fractured skull after he slammed the boy into the ground head first, the local district attorney’s said.
• Laurence Gendreau, 39, was convicted last month of attempted murder in the second degree, assault in the first degree, two counts of endangering the welfare of a child, grand larceny in the fourth degree and criminal possession of stolen property in the fifth degree, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said. Aside from the 25 years in prison, Gendreau was also sentenced to five years post-release supervision.
• The 6-year-old boy was taken to a hospital where he was treated for a fractured skull, bleeding on the brain and a collapsed lung as a result of the attack. The child has since recovered following the horrific 2019 attack.

A Queens man was sentenced Thursday to 25 years in prison for a random assault years ago that left child with a fractured skull after he slammed the boy into the ground head first, the local district attorney’s said.

Laurence Gendreau, 39, was convicted last month of attempted murder in the second degree, assault in the first degree, two counts of endangering the welfare of a child, grand larceny in the fourth degree and criminal possession of stolen property in the fifth degree, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said. Aside from the 25 years in prison, Gendreau was also sentenced to five years post-release supervision.

The conviction and subsequent sentence are in connection to a horrific incident that took place on Oct. 10, 2019. According to trial testimony, shortly before 5 p.m. on that day a 6-year-old boy was waiting with his older brother outside of their grandparents’ Kew Gardens residence for a pizza delivery. Gendreau, who was passing by, ran toward the child yelling at him. He then, according to the trial testimony, lifted the younger boy over his head and slammed him onto the pavement head first.

When this happened, the child’s older brother ran inside his grandparents’ house to alert the family, according to the trial testimony. As Gendreau ran away, the boy’s grandfather chased after him and flagged a police officer who arrested Gendreau.

The 6-year-old boy was taken to a hospital where he was treated for a fractured skull, bleeding on the brain and a collapsed lung as a result of the attack. The child has since recovered.

“The brutality displayed by this defendant toward an innocent child is heartbreaking. With this sentence, we have achieved justice for the young boy and his family and taken a dangerous man off of our streets,” Katz said.

It was later revealed, according to the charges and trial testimony, that on the same day that Gendreau bashed the child’s head into the pavement, he previously approached an 83-year-old woman snatched her iPad. The stolen iPad was found on Gendreau when he was arrested after attacking the 6-year-old.