Angela Hadid

Angela served her time at the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility

**Angela Hadid** is an American convicted sex offender and former lawyer, financial analyst and businesswoman from New York City. She is was the best friend of Jennifer Marks and served as a guardian for Margaret Marks from 2008 to 2012. In November 2013, Angela was convicted of sexually abusing Margaret Marks and sentenced to 10 years with an additional 5 years of post-release supervision following her release. She was released in 2021 after serving 8 years of her sentence.

## Early Life

Angela Elizabeth Burns was born on May 26, 1970 in Lafayette, Louisiana to banker Gretchen Burns (née Rothkopf) and real estate agent Timothy Burns. Angela graduated from Acadiana High School in 1988 before attending Virginia Commonwealth University where she graduated with a BA in Economics in 1992. Angela attended New York Law School and graduated with a JD in 1995.

## Career

Angela began her career as an intern at a law firm in New York City, in 1995 she became a junior associate at Breckenridge and Colby. In 1999 Angela became a financial analyst for the New York Life Insurance Company. Angela was a member of the New York State Bar Association, the New Jersey State Bar Association, and the Connecticut Bar Association. She was also licensed to practice in the Southern District of New York and the Eastern District of New York.

## Personal Life

Angela was married to Wall Street trader Tarik Hadid from 1999 to 2006, they have a daughter, Rachel, born 2002. Angela and Tarik separated in 2005 and divorced in 2006, they remained friends and coparented Rachel until Angela went to jail. Angela was an avid civil rights advocate who volunteers legal services and advice to various organizations.

From 2008 to 2012 Angela served as a legal guardian for Margaret Marks, the daughter of her college roommate and best friend Jennifer Marks, while she attended the School of American Ballet and subsequently danced with the New York City Ballet.

### Sexual Abuse

From the age of 12 to the age of 16, Margaret was the victim of sexual abuse from her legal guardian, Angela Hadid. The abuse started shortly after Margaret went to live with her Angela while she was attending the School of American Ballet in New York City. Margaret’s abuse started out with inappropriate comments and sexually explicit conversations, this led to touching and in turn led to full sexual assault and abuse. Some of the abuse included Angela performing oral and digital sex on Margaret, forcing Margaret to perform oral sex on her, as time passed the abuse got more and more serious, it culminated with Angela forcibly penetrating Margaret with various objects. Angela kept Margaret from reporting her by threatening to ruin her aspiring career, and worse by threatening to do the same to her own daughter if Margaret didn’t comply.

Eventually on Thursday July 26, 2012, Margaret who was then 16 confided in Lindsey about the years of abuse she had suffered. Despite asking Lindsey to promise not to tell anyone else, Lindsey contacted the NYPD and reported what had happened. Detectives came to her workplace to speak with her to avoid tipping off Angela. Despite initially refusing to discuss her abuse, Margaret eventually reluctantly shared her story with the detectives. Angela was arrested and pled not guilty, alleging Margaret had an inappropriate fixation on her and had made up the abuse. **Angela**’s trial took place between Friday September 13, 2013 to Friday September 27, 2013, she was found guilty of sexual conduct against a child in the first degree, a Class B felony, and at her sentencing hearing on Thursday November 28, 2013, she was sentenced to 10 years plus 5 years of post-release supervision. The judge remarked that Angela had a good chance for rehabilitation as it was her first offense. Margaret’s victim impact statement was especially moving, with Angela and even the judge being visibly emotional as Margaret read it.

The verdict caused significant outrage, with various commentators saying that had Angela been a male offender and being convicted of the same offense, she would have been given a much harsher sentence as the potential maximum sentence is 25 years. Margaret spoke out about the stigma of being the survivor of sexual abuse where the perpetrator was a woman. She explained how several people had disregarded or tried to minimize her abuse by suggesting it was less serious than if it was a male offender. She even recounted people making lewd comments about her abuse, including unnamed male members of her dance company.

Margaret’s mother, Jennifer became a victim’s rights advocate and advocated for significant reforms in sentencing for crimes against children. Angela was released on Wednesday December 15, 2021 after serving 8 years of her 10 year sentence. Angela was considered a model prisoner and was released early for both good behavior and due to the pandemic. Despite her release, Angela still has to register as a sex offender for the rest of her life and complete 5 years of post-release supervision until December 2026.

## Post Release

Angela Hadid was released on December 15, 2021. Her release was prompted by her good behavior and due to the ongoing pandemic. Upon release Angela was required to register as a level two sex offender and barred from holding any jobs that would involve her being around anyone under 18. Angela will also be on post-release supervision until December 2026. Angela has since gotten a job as an office manager and has limited supervised visits with her daughter. Angela has petitioned to have her level lowered to one, which would mean she would only have to register for 20 years, her request was denied.

Angela has tried several times to reach out to Margaret, allegedly to apologize for the abuse she subjected Margaret to, but Margaret has so far refused all requests for contact. Angela has used social media to apologize for her actions but otherwise she has stayed out of the public eye. Despite initially planning on writing a book about her ‘journey to heal herself from her afflictions', she hasn’t spoken any more about the planned book as of September 2023.