The Nassau County Courthouse in Garden City.

By Michael Mashburn From Daily Voice

A Long Island man who confessed to spray-painting antisemitic graffiti across homes and a Jewish center was sentenced on a felony hate crime charge after failing to complete the conditions of his plea deal.

Sebastian Caceres, 23, of East Meadow, was given four years’ probation on a felony count of fourth-degree criminal mischief as a hate crime in Nassau County Court Monday, Nov. 10.

Caceres pleaded guilty in January with the understanding that he could reduce the conviction to a misdemeanor if he successfully finished six months of bias-prevention training, 100 hours of community service, and a guided tour of the Holocaust Memorial and Tolerance Center in Glen Cove.

But he completed only a fraction of those requirements. Staff leading the Holocaust center tour reported that Caceres appeared “closed-minded” and showed little remorse, prosecutors said.

Caceres finished just one required bias-prevention session and failed to complete his community service, prompting Nassau County Judge Robert Schwartz to sentence him on the original felony charge.

The case stems from a series of incidents that occurred between April 14 and 15, 2024, when Caceres spray-painted antisemitic phrases along PVC fencing behind homes on Merrick Avenue.

The phrases included “Zionism is Nazism,” “Stop the Genocide,” “Free Palestine,” and another profanity directed at Israel, prosecutors said. One message was painted over plastic sheeting that protected a mural honoring Israeli hostages taken by Hamas in October 2023.

Caceres also spray-painted “Free Palestine” across the sidewalk outside the East Meadow Beth-El Jewish Center at 1400 Prospect Avenue, according to investigators.

“My office will never accept Antisemitism in Nassau County, and while we will always extend opportunities for defendants to learn and grow from their hateful and misguided acts, when a defendant refuses the chance to become a more tolerant member of society, they will meet the appropriate legal consequences,” said District Attorney Anne Donnelly.