Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney today announced that a 45-year-old Brentwood man pleaded guilty to Rape in the First Degree and other related charges for sexually abusing his five-year-old daughter.
The District Attorney’s Office is not naming the defendant in order to protect the identity of the child victim.
“Today, the rights of this young victim have been vindicated. This defendant disgraced his role as a father when he engaged in the unconscionable abuse of his own daughter,” said District Attorney Tierney. “I want to thank the Suffolk County Police Department for their investigation in this case and the prosecutors for their relentless pursuit of justice for the victim. Now this defendant will be held accountable for his reprehensible crimes.”
According to court documents and the defendant’s admissions during his guilty plea allocution, on July 26, 2021, the defendant was spending time with his five-year-old daughter at his apartment. The victim’s mother, who was estranged from the defendant at the time, asked a family member to check on the child after she spoke with the defendant on the phone and believed that he had been drinking. The family member went into the defendant’s home and saw the defendant actively sexually abusing the child.
The family member immediately called 911, resulting in the defendant’s arrest. A sexual assault forensic examination was conducted on the child which confirmed DNA evidence of abuse.
On January 10, 2024, the defendant pleaded guilty before County Court Judge, the Honorable Karen M. Wilutis, to all of the charges contained in the indictment:
- Rape in the First Degree, a Class B violent felony;
- Criminal Sexual Act in the First Degree, a Class B violent felony;
- Sexual Abuse in the First Degree, a Class D violent felony;
- Sexual Abuse in the Second Degree, a Class A misdemeanor; and
- Endangering the Welfare of a Child, a Class A misdemeanor.
The defendant is due back in court for sentencing on February 9, 2024, where he is expected to be sentenced to 16 years in prison followed by 20 years of post-release supervision. He is being represented by Scott Zerner, Esq.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Zachary Kelly of the Child Abuse and Domestic Violence Bureau and Assistant District Attorney Alexandra Guidarelli of the Domestic Violence Unit, with investigative assistance from now retired Detective Charles Ross of the Suffolk County Police Department’s Special Victims Section, and Suffolk County District Attorney Investigator Robert Fitchett.
Criminal complaints and indictments are merely accusatory instruments. Defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty. No one is above the law.