Family court judge reassigned, named in complaint

A Suffolk judge was reassigned from his bench in a Riverhead family court Monday and state officials say they have received a complaint against the judge from a child advocacy group.

While state officials would not say why Judge Andrew Tarantino Jr. was reassigned, they did acknowledge receiving a complaint from the Parents for Megan's Law that alleges he joked about child pornography during a hearing involving a sex offender.

The complaint, filed Tuesday, alleges that Tarantino Jr. made "highly inappropriate" remarks during a spring hearing in Riverhead.

The hearing at issue was part of an ongoing Family Court dispute over visitation rights and other matters between a 29-year-old mother of three and her ex-husband, said Laura Ahern, executive director of Parents for Megan's Law, during a news conference Wednesday.

As a result of the hearing, the judge expanded the father's visitation rights over the mother's objections, ruling in April that he could have overnight visits with the children.

The complaint alleges the judge showed "a blatant disregard for the facts" when he allowed the father overnight visits with his children.

The father was convicted of rape and possessing child porn in 2008 and was sentenced to six months in jail and 10 years probation, according to court records.

Newsday is not naming the family because of the sensitive nature of the case.

The complaint was sent Tuesday, one day after Tarantino was reassigned by a state court administrator to a civil court. His new duties begin Monday, said state court spokesman David Bookstaver. Asked why Tarantino was reassigned, Bookstaver said, "We don't comment on judicial assignments."

Robert Tembeckjian, the administrator for the commission, said the complaint was received by fax Wednesday. The commission, an 11-member body appointed by the governor, the state's chief judge and the State Legislature, will examine the complaint and then decide to investigate only if it has merit, he said.

He declined to comment further. The commission gets nearly 2,000 complaints annually, he said.

Officials would not say whether the reassignment and the complaint were connected. A message left Wednesday at Tarantino's chambers was not returned. Attempts to locate Tarantino were unsuccessful. It was unclear if he has an attorney.

The mother said Tarantino was sarcastic or dismissive of her through the hearing, and berated her for talking too softly.

"I don't want another family to have to go through this. It was almost like I was supposed to feel bad for trying to protect my children," she said.

Tarantino's April decision was appealed by the children's court-appointed attorney and a stay of the visitation order was granted, Ahern said. The father retains supervised daytime visitation rights with his children, none of whom were involved with his previous criminal cases. The appeal is pending.