Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney today announced that Randell Hollman, 16, of East Patchogue, was sentenced to three to nine years in prison after pleading guilty to burglary, rape, and other related charges, after burglarizing a Mastic Beach home and attacking a woman in front of her four-year-old child while inside.
“This is a crime whose brutality shocks the conscience,” said District Attorney Tierney. “We thank the Court for balancing the defendant’s age with the seriousness of the offense. The impact on the victims cannot be lost, and my office will always do everything in our power to seek accountability and justice, not matter what age a defendant is.”
According to court documents and the defendant’s admissions during his guilty plea allocution, on April 19, 2022, at approximately 3:15 p.m., Hollman and an accomplice broke into a house in Mastic Beach after waiting for one of its residents to drive away. While inside the home looking for items to steal, the two found a locked bedroom door and kicked it in to gain entry. In that bedroom was a 23-year-old mother and her four-year-old daughter. While the accomplice went through the bedroom looking for property to steal, Hollman, who was 14 years old, sexually assaulted the mother in front of her child.
After the sexual assault, Hollman slashed the woman across her head and forehead with a switchblade. He then stabbed the victim in her chest and twisted the blade inside of her. The victim was treated at a local hospital where she received medical treatment including stitches and staples to her head, face, and chest area.
On December 19, 2023, Hollman pleaded guilty to the following charges before Acting Supreme Court Justice Karen Kerr:
- Rape in the First Degree, a Class B violent felony;
- Assault in the First Degree, a Class B violent felony;
- Burglary in the First Degree, a Class B violent felony; and
- Endangering the Welfare of a Child, a Class A misdemeanor.
On March 5, 2024, Justice Kerr sentenced Hollman to three to nine years in prison. He will also be required to register as a sex offender. Hollman was represented by Christopher Gioe, Esq.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Veronica McMahon and Carlos J. Benitez II of the Major Crime Bureau, and the investigation was conducted by Sergeant Lauren Ventura, Detective Sergeant Tulio Serrata, and Lieutenant James Bebry of the Suffolk County Police Department.
Criminal complaints and indictments are merely accusatory instruments. Defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty. No one is above the law.