Sen. Luis Sepulveda holds toy drive 2 days after domestic assault allegations

Two days after turning himself in to police on domestic assault accusations, state Sen. Luis Sepulveda held a toy drive in partnership with residents of a Soundview NYCHA building.

News 12 Staff

Jan 15, 2021, 12:30 AM

Updated 1,430 days ago

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Two days after turning himself in to police on domestic assault accusations, state Sen. Luis Sepulveda held a toy drive in partnership with residents of a Soundview NYCHA building. 
The only time the senator acknowledged the allegations was when the host of the toy drive mistakenly admitted to the accusations. 
"I don't applaud domestic violence, because I've been a victim myself. My mom-- all her life, but when a person admits it, which a lot of people don't do, they don't admit what they do, and he has,” said Tenants Association President the Rev. Carmen Hernandez. 
"I'm compelled to clarify something. First of all, this is for the kids today. This is a wonderful event. I don't know if the reverend misspoke, I have not admitted to any acts of domestic violence. Let's make that clear because I have not. We'll deal with that on some other forum, but right now it's really about the children,” said Sepulveda. 
As he was leaving the event, News 12 tried to speak with him to see if he would publicly comment on the allegations, but he did not respond and drove away. 
He is accused of choking his estranged wife during a domestic dispute. Sources say they filed complaints against each other, as he is also accusing her of assaulting him. 
Sepulveda has been charged with criminal obstruction of breathing. 
News 12 reached out to Sepulveda’s office for a statement and has not heard back yet. 
On Tuesday, his lawyer said the accusations are false and called it “a calculated attempt by a disgruntled party to leverage a divorce settlement.”