Kidnapper Fueled 'Cropsey' Legend

Andre Rand became a custodian at the Willowbrook State School in 1966. The facility served children with mental disabilities on the 385-acre Willowbrook campus, which also housed a former tuberculosis sanitarium. Rand lived and worked at the school until 1968, serving as an orderly and physical therapist. After the school closed in 1987, Rand reportedly started camping in the woods near Willowbrook.

Journalist Geraldo Rivera revealed the conditions at Willowbrook were deplorable.Willowbrook had a history of overcrowding, disease, and abuse. His reportage became the documentary Willowbrook: The Last Disgrace

Andre Rand was born Frank Rushan on March 11, 1944, in Manhattan. He grew up in Ithaca, NY. Little is known about his childhood.This covers Rand's childhood.His father died when Rand was 14. His mother spent some time in a mental institution.

Rand's sister, who remained anonymous until she agreed to be interviewed for the documentary CropseyTheir mother had emotional problems. This caused her to spend time at Pilgrim State Hospital in Brentwood, NY. Rand's sister stated neither she nor Rand were abused by either parent.

On May 25, 1969, Andre Rand, age 25, was arrestedPolice discovered Rand and a 9-year-old girl in his car at a vacant lot in the South Bronx after he was charged with kidnapping and attempted rape.

Rand was charged with attempted rape. He later pleaded guilty to sexual abuse in 1970 to get a lighter sentence. He served only 16 months in prison before being paroled in 1972. Some people guess he involved in another young girl's disappearance after release.

On January 9, 1983, Rand picked up 11 kids in a school bus. He found the children at the Staten Island YMCA. Rand took them instead of returning them home.Rand kidnapped them for five hours.Rand took the children to White Castle for burgers. Then, he went to Newark Airport to watch planes land and depart.

Rand faced charges of unlawful imprisonment but served only 10 months in prison because none of the children were harmed.

On July 9, 1987, Jennifer Schweiger's parents reported their 12-year-old daughter missing. Schweiger had Down syndrome and left home for what was a short walk. Andre Rand was arrested for kidnapping Schweiger.kidnapping SchweigerNearly a month later, on August 4, Rand was placed under a 30-day psychiatric evaluation.

Days later, Schweiger's body appeared.found buried in a shallow grave on Willowbrook's grounds. One of Rand's camping spots was only 150 feet away. At this time, he faced charges of first-degree murder.in a shallow grave on Willowbrook's grounds. One of Rand's temporary campsites was 150 feet away. At that time, he faced first-degree murder charges.

Some of Rand's fellow inmates claimed he compared himself to serial killer Ted Bundy. Rand allegedly said, "You know me and Ted Bundy are alike in many ways. We both used Volkswagens. Bundy's thing was women. My thing is kids... Do you think the police could figure that out?"

Rand's defense attorney, Duane Felton, later described these statements.Felton described these statements as "pretentious prison boasting."Rand's defense attorney, Duane Felton, later described these statements as "pretentious prison boasting."

Witnesses saw Rand holding hands with Schweiger the day she vanished. Still, the jury could not find a verdict on the first-degree murder charge. The jury did find Rand guilty.The jury found Rand guilty of kidnapping.The jury also found him guilty of unlawful imprisonment, which resulted in a 25-year to life sentence.

Rand received his sentence in 1989. He would have qualified for parole in 2008 if he had not faced kidnapping charges years later.

In 2002, kidnapping charges targeted Rand over the 1981 disappearance of another young girl. Holly Ann Hughes, a 7-year-old Staten Island resident, was last seen buying soap at a local store on July 15. Witnesses saw Rand's Volkswagen driving near the area, but evidence did not support a kidnapping charge because Hughes' body never appeared.

Police reopened the case in 1998. They gathered enough evidence to charge Rand, who was found guilty.Rand was found guilty.Rand was found guilty of kidnapping Hughes and received another 25 years to life in 2004. Rand will be 93 when he becomes eligible for parole in 2037.

Three other missing person cases remain unsolved.Andre Rand is believed to be involved in these three other missing person cases. The first case happened in 1972 when 5-year-old Alice Pereira went missing from her Staten Island apartment building near Willowbrook. Rand had just been released from prison and worked as a painter in that building when Pereira vanished. Police questioned Rand, but lack of evidence led to his release.Andre Rand is believed involved in three missing person cases. The first happened in 1972. Five-year-old Alice Pereira vanished from her Staten Island apartment building near Willowbrook. Rand worked as a painter in that building just after leaving prison. Police questioned Rand, but they released him lacking evidence.

On August 14, 1983, ten-year-old Tiahease Jackson disappeared after leaving the Mariner's Harbor Motel on Staten Island. Twelve days before that, Rand finished his sentence for the school bus kidnapping and got out of prison. Authorities questioned Rand, but they found insufficient evidence to file charges.

Rand is also a suspect in the third case: Hank Gafforio. Gafforio was a mentally disabled, twenty-two-year-old man Rand last saw. The two ate at a diner in 1984. Gafforio never appeared again.

On Mother's Day 2011, Rand sent an unsettlinghandwritten noteIn the letter, then-sixty-seven-year-old Rand wished "all the ladies on Staten Island who supported 'prosecutorial vindictiveness' against an innocent person" a happy Mother's Day.

He also wrote that if he could afford it, he would give them seeds to plant rose bushes honoring his forgiveness. Rand also spoke about the "Spirit of God" that guided him through his life.

The documentary featured Rand's story and the urban legend around it in 2009.Two Staten Island natives made a documentary about Rand and the Cropsey legend.. Joshua Zeman and Barbara Brancaccio grew up on Staten Island. They remember hearing about Cropsey in the '80s and avoiding the woods near the old Seaview Hospital and Willowbrook.

Zeman and BrancaccioThey interviewed several people.The film included Andre Rand's sister and retired detectives. They talked about how a story they thought was an urban legend became both a lead-up and an afterthought to a real terror story in their neighborhoods.