Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney today announced that Eric Freeman, 48, of Bellport, was sentenced to 125 years to life in prison after a jury found him guilty of numerous counts of burglary, rape, and other related charges, for burglarizing four homes, raping a teen who was in one of the homes, and then attempting to rape a woman at another home.
“The heinous actions of this serial burglar and rapist who preyed on innocent victims in the sanctity of their homes was proven during trial, and today, he was justly sentenced to life in prison,” said District Attorney Tierney. “Our community is safer now that this violent offender is locked up. I thank the courageous victims for testifying here. This defendant should never have been on the street to victimize them in the first place.”
The evidence at trial established that between June 22, 2021, through July 16, 2021, Freeman illegally entered four homes in Suffolk County which were occupied by women at the times of the break-ins.
Beginning on June 22, 2021, Freeman entered a Bay Shore residence where a 16-year-old female was inside alone. Freeman sexually assaulted the teen and threated to kill her when she screamed for help. Freeman then fled the residence.
On June 25, 2021, Freeman attempted to enter and burglarize a home in Bellport while harassing a woman who was inside, under the pretense that he was looking for water. A week later, on July 1, 2021, Freeman returned to the same home, illegally entered, and attempted to rape a different woman who was living alone in a small apartment attached to the main house. Freeman obstructed the woman’s breathing by choking her and sexually assaulted her as she attempted to thwart the attack by offering him money. Three days later, on July 4, 2021, Freeman again returned to the woman’s home but was unable to get inside.
On July 12, 2021, Freeman illegally entered another Bellport residence while a mother and her 11-year-old son were inside and stole money and other personal items from the home. Freeman was arrested by Suffolk County Police officers later that day and was found with several stolen items in his pockets. When he was arraigned on those charges, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office requested that bail be set in the amount of $75,000 cash, $150,000 bond, or $750,000 partially secured bond. However, at his arraignment, Suffolk County District Court Judge Edward J. Hennessey released Freeman on his own recognizance and ordered that he wear a GPS ankle monitor. It was later determined that Freeman, despite having the ankle monitor, did not charge it so his location could not be tracked.
On July 16, 2021, Freeman illegally entered a Huntington Station residence where a female was home with her 7-year-old daughter. While inside, Freeman stole money and choked the woman in front of her child. Freeman fled the home after the mother and child began screaming and banging on the walls to an adjoining apartment. Freeman was arrested by Suffolk Police shortly thereafter.
In November 2023, while he was being held in jail for these charges, Freeman was indicted for Conspiracy in the Second Degree, a Class B felony, for allegedly attempting to smuggle fentanyl into the correctional facility through his unsuspecting defense attorney. That case is still pending.
Prior to these crimes, Freeman was determined to be a Level Three sex offender stemming from a 1990 juvenile offense conviction. He was later convicted of Failing to Register as a Sex Offender in June 2021, and at the time that the instant crimes were committed, he was out of custody and ordered by a judge to be released on his own recognizance while pending sentence on that case.
On February 9, 2024, Freeman was convicted of the following charges after a jury trial heard before Acting Supreme Court Justice Richard I. Horowitz:
- Two counts of Burglary in the First Degree, Class B violent felonies;
- One count of Rape in the First Degree, a Class B violent felony;
- Two counts of Criminal Sexual Act in the First Degree, Class B violent felonies;
- One count of Attempted Rape in the First Degree, a Class C violent felony;
- Two counts of Burglary in the Second Degree, Class C violent felonies;
- Two counts of Attempted Burglary in the Second Degree, Class D violent felonies;
- One count of Assault in the Second Degree, a Class D violent felony;
- One count of Sexual Abuse in the First Degree, a Class D violent felony
- Two counts of Criminal Sexual Act in the Third Degree, Class E felonies;
- One count of Rape in the Third Degree, a Class E felony;
- Three counts of Criminal Obstruction of Breathing, Class A misdemeanors;
- Two counts of Endangering the Welfare of a Child, Class A misdemeanors;
- Two counts of Harassment in the Second Degree, Class A misdemeanors; and
- Two counts of Criminal Trespass in the Third Degree, Class B misdemeanors.
On May 1, 2024, after conducting a hearing, Justice Horowitz found Freeman to be a persistent felony offender and sentenced him to 125 years to life in prison. He was represented by John Halverson, Esq. and Christopher Gioe, Esq.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Tara Laterza of the Child Abuse and Domestic Violence Bureau and Assistant District Attorney Dena Rizopoulos of the Homicide Bureau, and the investigation was conducted by Detective Alberto Acevedo of the Suffolk County Police Department’s Homicide Squad and Detective Michael Oberg of the Suffolk County Police Department’s Second Squad.
Criminal complaints and indictments are merely accusatory instruments. Defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty. No one is above the law.