(nydn) Hip-hop fans know Brooklyn rapper Queen Pen as a sassy, streetwise girl from the 'hood who made good, winning a Grammy for best R&B song back in 1997 for her role on a dance hit called "No Diggity." But today, Pen is one of thousands of women in New York City in desperate need of help in getting away from an abusive ex-partner - one who needs to be in handcuffs soon. Kendall Wicker, the man whose photo accompanies this column, is Pen's ex-boyfriend and the father of two of her five children. NYPD detectives have been looking for Wicker since early this year, when he allegedly beat Pen so badly that she needed reconstructive surgery. Pen says her life is in danger. She showed me five orders of protection - dating back to 2005 - that did nothing to prevent the beatings. Ironically, Pen has spent years trying to help victims of domestic violence, organizing concerts that raise money for safe houses and shelters. When Wicker showed up outside her building recently, says Pen, cops arrived 31 minutes after her frantic calls. She's trying to find a new place to live, care for young children and make a living in a business that requires public appearances - all while avoiding Wicker. "I'm fighting the same battles that people have cried and complained to me about," she says. "I'm trying to get help. When is someone going to listen to me?" According to the Mayor's Office to Combat Domestic Violence, the NYPD responded to more than 229,000 domestic violence calls last year - an average of more than 600 a day. Last year also saw 48 family-related homicides in the five boroughs - and the rate has increased this year, with 17 family-related killings as of the end of March. "He may claim he doesn't have the ability to kill me, but I know he does," Pen told me. "On Jan. 31, he could have killed me." That was the day of a severe beating at her East Flatbush apartment that left Pen unconscious. "The Fire Department had to kick my door in to get me," she says. She returned after four days in the hospital to find her furniture, artwork and awards - including the Grammy - smashed. Anybody who knows Wicker's whereabouts should call the detective squad of the 67th Precinct at (718) 287-3225.

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