Add The New York Post on Google A 62-year-old woman pummeled on an MTA bus raged to The Post on Monday her accused attacker should not have been on the streets — where she was free to allegedly snatch a tot from his grandma last week.
Thomasina Guzman, who was allegedly randomly slugged by hate-spewing maniac Chrissy Payne on Aug. 19, railed against the soft-on-crime justice system that repeatedly let the maniac go free — and warned it’s just a matter of time before the repeat offender strikes again.
“What are they waiting for? For her to have a weapon the next time and kill someone?” said Guzman, who still takes shots for shoulder pain from her bus beat-down, of Payne.
“This is unjust,” the victim said. “There aren’t any consequences for criminals.
“I was worried because I am aware of what’s going on with the court system in the city,” Guzman said. “They arrest criminals, just to put them back out on the street without bail or consequence. I want to live a normal life, but the truth is, I am really scared to take the bus.
Guzman was on a city bus at Utica and Farragut avenues in Brooklyn when she was randomly assaulted, with her attacker yelling, “I don’t want to sit next to no white B-word,” according to Brooklyn prosecutors at Payne’s arraignment Sunday.
Payne had three other open misdemeanor assault cases against her at the time, including one also ruled a hate crime, but was still roaming around free because she was repeatedly cut loose thanks to the state’s lax criminal justice system, which wouldn’t let judges hold her.
About a month after the attack on Guzman, Payne allegedly sprang on a 4-year-old boy and his 66-year-old grandmother on a bench outside a Crown Heights McDonald’s on Sept. 14 — telling the youngster, “Come with Mama,” prosecutors said.
Only the tot’s nearby off-duty-cop mom’s quick thinking saved the child, who was pulled away from the nut.
Payne was picked up days later on felony attempted-kidnapping charges and also hit with charges in the attack on Guzman and finally shipped off to jail on Rikers Island on $50,000 bail.
The suspect also still faces charges for allegedly slugging a 35-year-old woman in July in the other hate crime, punching a 78-year-old woman in another city bus assault and throwing a 66-year-old woman to the ground after grabbing her hair at a Utica Avenue bus stop in April.
She also faces petty larceny and possession of stolen property in another case.
“It’s crazy,” said Guzman’s son, Erick Guzman, to The Post. “It doesn’t make any sense.
“They’re giving this bully a slap on the wrist every time. It’s insane to happen that many times. God forbid she gets released again. What’s going to happen? What is she capable of?”
His dad, Heriberto Guzman, said Thomasina is now “looking around” when she’s out on the street — and took a break to visit family in the Dominican Republic after the brazen attack.
Thomasina said she’s relieved that her accused attacker is finally behind bars but remains afraid that it’s only a matter of time before she’s back on the streets.
“I am disappointed in the way the criminal system is being handled in the city,” she said. “Anyone can commit a crime, cry a mental-health excuse and get released.
“They continue to harm, they continue to kill people, and nothing happens.’’
