Bay Shore, NY - February 10, 2017 - A Suffolk County jury deliberated for 40 minutes before convicting a Bay Shore man this afternoon of sexually abusing a young girl between 2012 and 2016, District Attorney Thomas Spota said.
Robert Kattau was convicted of both counts in the indictment; course of sexual conduct against a child in the first degree, a class “B” violent felony, and endangering the welfare of a child, a misdemeanor.
Kattau began sexually abusing the victim when she was 8 years old in the summer of 2012. The victim told a friend of the abuse and eventually officials of the school she was attending learned of Kattau’s behavior and notified police. Kattau was arrested March 9 of last year.
The trial began on February 1 before State Supreme Court Justice Mark Cohen.
“The defendant faces a maximum of 25 years in state prison and that will be our sentencing recommendation when he is sentenced on March 14,” DA Spota said.
Kattau, 43, was remanded to the county jail to await sentencing.
Be advised that a charge is merely an accusation and that a defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.