Karate teacher charged in sex abuse of student -

In his statement to Suffolk police, the 13-year-old describes himself as one of karate instructor James Bonfiglio's "cool group," the ones allowed to hang out in the office of Excel Karate Academy and teach ...

[Tam]

My son was a student at Excel Karate Acacemy for almost two years and was deeply saddened and angry when learning of Sensei Jimmy's arrest. He stated that there was no way possible that he could be guilty of this horrible crime. I, along with my son, spent many hours a week in that school and never had a negative word to say about Jimmy or the other instructors. James Bonfiglio was extremely patient, kind, fair and encouraging to all of his students and always maintained a friendly relationship with the parents. He went out of his way to help resolve any problems the kids may have been having, both in karate or in life. I always thought that the students that had been under his intruction for years and became instructors were among the most well rounded and good kids that I have known and I would be happy if my son became a teenager like them. My son's safety will always come first and never once, in the time he spent under thier instruction, did I feel that he was threatened in any way. It is a terrible shame that lives have been ruined this way and our thoughts are with everyone involved.

[Carlita]

Just because this is the only victim who spoke up, does not mean this man doesn't have prior victims under his belt, pardon the pun.
Having a clean arrest record and no prior sex offender registration does not mean he is not a threat. Many offenders are so adept at the crime of sexual victimization of children that they pass through the radar. Also, many offenders plead guilty to lesser charges to prevent sex offender status and the DA's allow it to "protect the victim from having to testify".
A lesson learned: do not leave your child unattended at any lessons, hang around, skip the trip to kohl's for the half hour you might have been sitting there supervising your child at Music lesssons, Karate lessons, etc. As parents, it is our responsibility to ensure our children's safety. Kudos to the Mom and the boy for contacting police!!!

[Tam]

Do You leave your children in the care of teachers and staff at their school for 6-7 hours a day, five days a week? Many teachers and staff have been accused of this kind of horrific crime. I such cases, like music lessons or karate instruction, you can only use your best judgement and gut feelings. As stated before, safety first and that was never in question. I would like to also point out that never once has my child been left alone, when not in class, with any adult.

[Tam]

Innocent until proven guilty. I need more concrete facts.

[Pete]

Tam wrote:

My son was a student at Excel Karate Acacemy for almost two years and was deeply saddened and angry when learning of Sensei Jimmy's arrest. He stated that there was no way possible that he could be guilty of this horrible crime. I, along with my son, spent many hours a week in that school and never had a negative word to say about Jimmy or the other instructors. James Bonfiglio was extremely patient, kind, fair and encouraging to all of his students and always maintained a friendly relationship with the parents. He went out of his way to help resolve any problems the kids may have been having, both in karate or in life. I always thought that the students that had been under his intruction for years and became instructors were among the most well rounded and good kids that I have known and I would be happy if my son became a teenager like them. My son's safety will always come first and never once, in the time he spent under thier instruction, did I feel that he was threatened in any way. It is a terrible shame that lives have been ruined this way and our thoughts are with everyone involved.

The HORROR, Oh, the Horror....."Apocalypse Now"...

[Pete]

Tam wrote:

Do You leave your children in the care of teachers and staff at their school for 6-7 hours a day, five days a week? Many teachers and staff have been accused of this kind of horrific crime. I such cases, like music lessons or karate instruction, you can only use your best judgement and gut feelings. As stated before, safety first and that was never in question. I would like to also point out that never once has my child been left alone, when not in class, with any adult.

Parents used these people as baby sitters while they go shopping or to work.

[Pete]

Tam wrote:

My son was a student at Excel Karate Acacemy for almost two years and was deeply saddened and angry when learning of Sensei Jimmy's arrest. He stated that there was no way possible that he could be guilty of this horrible crime. I, along with my son, spent many hours a week in that school and never had a negative word to say about Jimmy or the other instructors. James Bonfiglio was extremely patient, kind, fair and encouraging to all of his students and always maintained a friendly relationship with the parents. He went out of his way to help resolve any problems the kids may have been having, both in karate or in life. I always thought that the students that had been under his intruction for years and became instructors were among the most well rounded and good kids that I have known and I would be happy if my son became a teenager like them. My son's safety will always come first and never once, in the time he spent under thier instruction, did I feel that he was threatened in any way. It is a terrible shame that lives have been ruined this way and our thoughts are with everyone involved.

Lives have been ruined!!!!! THE HORROR!

[Keith Of Chesapeake Va]

Oh my dear friends,
As a victim of a "nice" predator many years ago let me tell you that yes it is hard for someone other than the victim to accept that such a nice man would do such a horrible thing.
Think about it....being nice is how they operate. They invest years into relationship building and build trust with their victims so when he does make his move they are thrown off.
Can't you see that this is exactly how this happens?
Oh, and of course they dont do it to everyone, they pick the vulnerable ones.
This is more common THESE days than you think.
Mine (and others) was a small town well known wonderful and thoughtful school janitor that was known and trust by the entire town.
To this day, people still do not accept what he was, they actuall blame victims like me for what happened.
More than likely this man is guilty.
Sorry Tam.

[Something rotten]

All the charges stem from one night,and an "alleged" IM.
That's pretty thin.
Once again we see emotional sensationalism blasting away a man's right to due process.
It's the kids word vs the mans word.
Who knows if this kid is just looking for a payday,or worse,his parents put him up to it because they don't like the instructor.
Don't judge this man until all the facts are in,and a jury decides.It's entirely possible this kid is full of BS and he's looking to get a ticket in the lawsuit lottery.
It would'nt be the first time.

[kay]

Pete wrote:

<quoted text>
Lives have been ruined!!!!! THE HORROR!

You're not funny at all. If this boy has been sexually abused by this man, his life will never be the same. If it turns out to be untrue, then a man's life has been ruined. Either way, it is nothing to joke about or make light of.

[ARE THEY FOR REAL]

either way 2 lives are changed forever probably ruined too sad sad story,but we all know the truth will eventually come out

[Tam]

There is nothing funny about this. Victims of these kind, or any other crimes, should never be blamed. The truth is that at this point, no one really knows the whole truth and it is shameful to pass immediate judgement on anyone without all the facts. I fully understand that it is naive to think that this sort of thing is not possible, and people never want to believe that that their judgement of a person was so completely off. I have only commented on my personal experience and observation and will need some real hard facts before thinking otherwise. I have sincere hopes that the child involved will be okay either way.

[Keith Of Chesapeake Va]

Something rotten wrote:

All the charges stem from one night,and an "alleged" IM.
That's pretty thin.
Once again we see emotional sensationalism blasting away a man's right to due process.
It's the kids word vs the mans word.
Who knows if this kid is just looking for a payday,or worse,his parents put him up to it because they don't like the instructor.
Don't judge this man until all the facts are in,and a jury decides.It's entirely possible this kid is full of BS and he's looking to get a ticket in the lawsuit lottery.
It would'nt be the first time.

This is also true.
But if they have evidence of the teacher inviting him to his house, that alone is inappropriate dont ya think?
Unfortunatly we do live in a world in which you can no longer LOOK at someone with out the threat of being sued or charged.
And that is the truth.
I still say that if what they say about his advances is true that teh dude is a predator.
IF I said IF.

[Anonymous]

I'm someone else who knows Bonfiglio, though I personally knew him as Sensei Jimmy. While I was never one of the "cool kids", I studied under him for close to 10 years. It was common knowledge that he favoured the male students, and I myself was female, but it wasn't until I was older that it became pretty clear that he was a one man gay pride parade, though he always kept his orientation a secret, probably because he didn't want to upset or scare more closed-minded parents. He always seemed to single out the more exceptional students and make them into a power team, and there was a well established hierarchy involving his favourites, then the rest of the school. I did not attend Excell though my former peers did, I knew him back when he was affiliated with another dojo. He was certainly an exceptional instructor, and a very kind, caring person from what I always saw. I don't think he would ever try to do anything to harm a child personally, but I guess I'll have to wait and see how this investigation turns out.

Though honestly, when I received a fone call about the arrest, I guessed why immediately. I was mostly joking, but who knows.

Either way, thanks for the lulz, Sensei Jimmy!

[Steff]

Let me start by saying that I'm all for "innocent until proven guilty", and it would be a real shame if this guy has been wrongfully accused of this horrific crime. HOWEVER, he has spent his life surrounding himself with young kids - it seems boys specifically. And true what Carlita said above about his record...maybe he's smart and has never been caught before. I feel bad for everyone involved.

[Rob]

So what did he do? Make the kid give him a hand-job? I hate the lack of details!

[Indifferent Neighbor]

^^--- do u really need to kno the details if you aren't part of the jury...? NO... unless u are gonna get off on it

[Just wait]

Rob wrote:

So what did he do? Make the kid give him a hand-job? I hate the lack of details!

I think he said "Grasshopper -- Snatch the pebble out of my pants and it will be time for you to leave...."

Sorry. Seriously, did this group do a Chinese New Year performance at a Nassau County Chinese Restaurant earlier this year? With full dragon outfits and dancing to drums? Because I think I actually met Sensei Jimmy that day.

[Pete]

kay wrote:

<quoted text>
You're not funny at all. If this boy has been sexually abused by this man, his life will never be the same. If it turns out to be untrue, then a man's life has been ruined. Either way, it is nothing to joke about or make light of.

I think the effects of being the victim of a sexual "predator" are overly exaggerated and dramatized. Each situation is different, regarding the violence of the attack down to it's brevity and the social circumstances. Many people have been sexually approached by these "freaky" people and "got away" so to speak. I agree that a violent sexual attack can have long lasting symptoms in terms of self esteem and result in depression later on, but that's true of straight, non sexual violent attacks too. Everybody is up in arms about sexual predators now, including these "non-violent" types who can't resist an attraction that comes out of a long association with a student. That's because the public in general is ignorant about sexual matters and has the maturity of a 10 year old when it comes to this subject.

It's just the modern witch hunt as far as I can see.

[Well]

he certainly has an oddly shaped cranium.