Using his nose to scroll through his cellphone, Carlos Simon is able to use a touchscreen even though he was born without arms.
That is until he was robbed of his phone two months ago outside a Port Richmond shopping center.
“I got jumped at a corner and assaulted,” Simon said.
Simon says a group of people surrounded him on Forest Avenue on Nov. 30 around 8:30 p.m., attacked him, and then took off.
Police arrested 20-year-old Vincent Popalardo, who has since been indicted on charges including robbery and assault as a hate crime.
"People at the court sat me down, they were telling me how they were suspecting the guy to have a rap sheet of past instances where a kid got robbed of his cellphone who had a different disability than me, and a year ago a kid with autism got robbed of his pants," said Simon.
“All crimes are unacceptable, but those committed against an individual because of his or her disability are particularly despicable," Staten Island District Attorney Michael McMahon said in a statement released Wednesday.
The district attorney says two other juveniles were separately charged for forcibly stealing from Simon, something a friend says she has worried about before.
“I've always been afraid for him to get robbed not because he's vulnerable, but because people will view him as vulnerable," said Simon’s friend Casey Lafrenier. "That's something disabled people have to face."
While Simon says he often forgets the unique day-to-day challenges he faces, he doesn't want to let this incident change the way he lives.
In fact, with wisdom beyond his age, he's forgiven those accused.
"I feel bad for the attackers because I don't know what their position is in life. I don't know where they came from or what they're doing," Simon said. "Maybe they needed money. We all fit different shoes."
Simon also thanks students and staff at his former high school, Curtis High School, for raising $1,000 to get him a new cellphone.