Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney today announced that Derrick Clancy, 43, was sentenced to 22 years to life in prison after pleading guilty in April to burglary, sexual abuse, and other related charges, for breaking into the homes of two elderly women in Mastic Beach and sexually assaulting them.
“Breaking into the homes of elderly women and subjecting them to sexual abuse is utterly reprehensible,” said District Attorney Tierney. “My office will continue to aggressively pursue justice for our most vulnerable citizens and ensure that those who prey on them face the full consequence of their actions.”
According to the investigation and the defendant’s admissions during his guilty plea allocution, during the early morning hours on October 10, 2023, Clancy broke into a Mastic Beach home where the first victim, a woman over 70 years old, was inside alone. To get inside the home, Clancy cut a hole in a window screen and climbed through the window. Clancy then physically and sexually abused the victim while repeatedly claiming he had a knife. Following the abuse, the victim pressed her medical alert system button for help, and Clancy fled the home. The victim was treated at a local hospital for her injuries.
Clancy’s second attack occurred during the early morning hours of October 17, 2023, when a woman over 70 years old heard a noise coming from a closet inside her home. When the victim looked inside the closet, she saw Clancy coming into her home through a window in the closet. Clancy then physically and sexually abused the victim before he fled. The victim immediately called 911 and was subsequently treated at a local hospital for her injuries.
Clancy was arrested on October 21, 2023, following an investigation conducted members of the Suffolk County Police Department, the United States Marshals Service’s New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force, Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, and the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision. Upon his arrest, detectives recovered the mask and knife that Clancy had used during the first burglary.
On April 30, 2024, Clancy pleaded guilty to the following charges before Acting Supreme Court Justice Karen M. Wilutis:
- Two counts of Burglary in the First Degree, Class B violent felonies;
- Two counts of Sexual Abuse in the First Degree, Class D violent felonies;
- Two counts of Assault in the Second Degree, Class D violent felonies; and
- Two counts of Criminal Obstruction of Breathing or Blood Circulation, Class A misdemeanors.
On June 21, 2024, Justice Wilutis sentenced Clancy to 22 years to life in prison. He was represented by Christopher Brocato, Esq.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Tara O’Donnell and Jacob DeLauter of the Major Crime Bureau, with investigative assistance from Detectives Michael Langella and Erik Pedersen of the Suffolk County Police Department’s Seventh Squad.
Criminal complaints and indictments are merely accusatory instruments. Defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty. No one is above the law.