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The 41-year-old Southold man, who prosecutors are not naming to protect the victims’ identities, was found guilty of multiple sex crimes by a Suffolk County jury on Friday, Oct. 20.
According to the district attorney’s office, the man molested his 5-year-old niece while watching a movie at his girlfriend’s apartment in April 2021.
The girl told her mother about the abuse hours later and her mother reported it to the Town of Southold Police Department.
During the investigation, a 9-year-old child of the man’s ex-girlfriend told police that he had repeatedly raped them between 2015 and 2018, when the child was between the ages of 9 and 12.
The abuse occurred while the man was alone with the child while their mother was at work, prosecutors said.
In order to keep the victim quiet, the man told them he would hurt their family if they told anyone about the abuse.
“This defendant took advantage of the trust that his family and ex-fiancé placed in him, in order to satisfy his own deviant sexual desires,” said Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney.
“We commend the child victims who courageously testified about their horrific experiences in court. Without their bravery, this defendant would never have been held accountable for his crimes.”
In court Friday, jurors found the man guilty of the following crimes:
- Course of sexual conduct against a child (felony)
- First-degree sexual abuse (felony)
- Endangering the welfare of a child (misdemeanor)
The defendant faces up to 32 years in prison when he’s sentenced on Thursday, Nov. 30. He will also have to register as a sex offender.
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