By The newspaper
31 Jul 2024, 01:53 AM EDT
From the time she was 7 years old and for nearly a decade, a girl was repeatedly abused by her stepfather at a home in Center Moriches, Long Island (NY).
The man pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 20 years in prison and 20 more years of post-release supervision, Suffolk County officials announced. His name was not released to protect the victim’s identity.
The horrific abuse began in 2014 and lasted until 2023, the 36-year-old told the court during his plea, according to the county District Attorney’s Office, reported Daily News.
During the nearly 10 years of abuse, the stepfather sent the girl obscene images of himself and demanded that she do the same. To force her to comply with his demands, he “threatened to subject the girl to more frequent rapes,” authorities said.
The girl’s decade of terror ended after the then-teenage victim told her mother about the abuse. The two then came up with a plan to catch the abuser in the act. In May 2023, the mother said she was going to work, but returned minutes later through an unlocked side door.
The mother saw the man “completely naked and standing next to the victim while he tried to rape her.” She managed to stop him from “completing the act” and called the authorities, who arrested him.
Late last month, the defendant pleaded guilty to sexual conduct against a minor, a violent felony. On Monday, he was sentenced by acting Supreme Court Judge Karen Wilutis.
“While no punishment can ever fully heal the physical and emotional wounds inflicted, this sentence will ensure that the defendant can no longer abuse this survivor, her family or anyone else,” District Attorney Raymond Tierney said in a statement. “The offender will be serving his rightful prison sentence.”
In a similar case, last week a 12-year-old girl was dragged down a staircase and raped on the roof of her public housing building (NYCHA) in East Harlem, Manhattan.
The number of sexual assaults committed by strangers has increased in NYC, as have domestic rapes. And the cases are often higher, and the majority of rapes remain unreported.
One of the most high-profile recent cases occurred last month when a 13-year-old girl was abused while playing soccer with a 13-year-old boy in Kissena Park in Queens. A 25-year-old Hispanic man was arrested and beaten by the community, and later confessed to the crime.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) has been warning since 2020 about an increase in cases of child pornography due to the increased time spent online by adults and children using social media.
If you are a victim or suspect that someone is being abused, especially if you are a minor or an elderly person:
I looked for help
- Call 911, 988 or (800)-942-6906.
- Text “WELL” to 65173.
- Check information at https://nycwell.cityofnewyork.us/es/ and www.988lineadevida.org