DiPerna's Lawyer: My Client is Innocent

The three Rockville Centre teens who allegedly on Roxen Road in June recently appeared in Nassau County District Court, and their cases were adjourned until a later date, according to District Court officials.

, both 18, will be back in court on Aug. 14, while , 18, will appear on Sept. 25.

John R. Lewis, Jr., the attorney for Matt DiPerna, recently spoke with Patch to  give his client's side of the story.

"I believe these boys will be vindicated at the end of the day," Lewis said. "The real question is, this is an accusation. We don't punish people or run families out of town based on accusations."

Lewis was responding to left on an RVC Patch article thread, where anonymous posters suggested punishments for the alleged attackers and their families.

"It is my contention that the alleged victim was not looking for an apology, but started the physical altercation," he said.

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Lewis said that on June 18, there was a group of 10-15 kids on a street near a friend's house. Lewis said he's not denying that the boys were boisterous or said off-colored remarks to the wife of the husband, but explained that the rest of the story and how it was portrayed in the media was "fantasy."

He said the boys split up into several groups, and when the wife and husband found one of the groups on Roxen Road, she pointed out one teen, who Lewis said was not DiPerna.

"He (the husband) proceeded to exact vengeance for what he perceived as a slight on his wife," Lewis said. "He hit one of the boys. He was the aggressor."

Lewis added that witnesses only saw the tail end of the altercation, and from what his research shows, his client's side of the story is the truth.

"Our contention is that he (the husband) was a vigilante," he said. "He started the confrontation and wouldn't let it die."

According to the Rockville Centre Police Department, who issued a through the village spokesperson on the case, the husband was attacked first after asking the boys for an apology. The name of the 43-year-old resident involved in the attack was not released.

Lewis noted that the issue has polarized the community and made it difficult to deal with, especially when some are convicting the three boys before they have their day in court.

"There is a judicial process, and they are innocent until proven guilty," he said.

The lawyers for William Moore and Kevin Coyle did not return several messages left by RVC Patch.