Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney today announced that a 45-year-old South Huntington Man[1] was sentenced to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty last month to Rape in the First Degree, for sexually assaulting his 21-year-old daughter in February 2022.
The District Attorney’s Office is not identifying the defendant in order to protect the identity of the sexual assault victim.
“This defendant’s unfathomable actions have landed him in prison,” said District Attorney Tierney. “Thankfully, the victim courageously reported what her father had done, so that he could be held accountable for his crime. Hopefully this sentence will give her the peace of mind knowing that he will be in prison, where he can no longer prey on her.”
According to court documents and the defendant’s admissions during his guilty plea allocution, in February 2022, the victim was spending time with her father when he encouraged her to spend the night at his house. The defendant later gave the victim an Advil PM so that she could rest. While the victim was sleeping, she was awakened by the defendant rubbing her back and her buttocks. The defendant then pinned the victim’s arms down and forcibly raped her.
The victim fled from the defendant’s house and ran for help from another family member who lived nearby. The police were notified, and the defendant was subsequently arrested.
On May 31, 2023, the defendant pleaded guilty before County Court Judge, the Honorable Karen M. Wilutis, to Rape in the First Degree, a Class B violent felony. On July 21, 2023, the defendant was sentenced to 10 years in prison followed by 20 years of post-release supervision. He was represented by Michael Elbert, Esq.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Breanna McIntyre and Katherine Flinchum of the Child Abuse and Domestic Violence Bureau, with investigative assistance from Suffolk County Police Department Detective Michael Volpicelli of the Second Squad.
Criminal complaints and indictments are merely accusatory instruments. Defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty. No one is above the law.