Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said in a press release on her website that Jamshaid Choudhry "has been charged with criminal mischief as a hate crime and other related crimes" in connection with the smashing of the statue at Holy Family Roman Catholic Church in Fresh Meadows on June 30.

The attack "caused the head of one of the statues, the depiction of a child Jesus, to break off," Katz's office said.

Surveillance footage reportedly showed Choudhry pulling up to the parish in a yellow cab, after which he allegedly ran up to the statue, took off his shoe, and struck the statue multiple times with it, beheading the depiction of Jesus.

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The OSCE data, published Nov 16, documented 980 incidents against Christians, including arson attacks on Catholic churches, desecration and robbery of Eucharistic hosts, assaults on priests, and anti-Catholic graffiti on Church property by abortion activists.

The OSCE previously reported 595 incidents against Christians in 2019.

There was a significant increase in the number of attacks against property last year, from 459 in 2019 to 871 in 2020, while the number of violent attacks against people decreased from 80 to 56 in 2020.

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