A 36-year-old Center Moriches man has pleaded guilty to subjecting his stepdaughter to repeated acts of rape and sexual abuse from the time that she was seven years old.
According to court documents and the defendant’s own admissions, between 2014 and May 2023, the defendant repeatedly raped his stepdaughter on a regular basis starting when she was seven years old. The abuse continued for years, with the defendant physically forcing himself upon the child as she fought back.
The Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office did not name the defendant in order to protect the identity of the child victim.
As time went by, the defendant’s abuse escalated to include anal sexual conduct against the child. The defendant sent the victim obscene images of himself and demanded that the victim send images of herself to him. In order to obtain these illicit images, the defendant threatened to subject the victim to more frequent perverse sexual conduct.
In May of 2023, the victim begged her mother not to leave her alone with the defendant and when her mother asked why, the child told her mother what the defendant had been doing to her. The victim and her mother then formed a plan to catch the defendant in the act. The victim’s mother pretended to leave for work, and when she returned minutes later, through a side door she had left unlocked, she found the defendant completely nude standing over the victim attempting to rape her. The victim’s mother then stopped the defendant and the victim reported the abuse to the police. The defendant was later arrested.
“This guilty plea represents a significant step towards justice for the victim, who has shown remarkable courage throughout this process, said Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney. “We commend the victim’s bravery in coming forward to her mother after enduring a decade of abuse. Our office remains committed to vigorously prosecuting these cases and providing unwavering support to survivors of sexual abuse.”
On June 20, 2024, the defendant pleaded guilty and is due back in court on July 29, 2024, for sentencing, where he is expected to be sentenced to 20 years in prison followed by 20 years of post-release supervision.
