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Riverhead resident Jose Carabantes Pineda, age 37, of Riverhead, was sentenced to 23 years in prison in Suffolk County Court on Thursday, April 6. It followed his guilty plea to the sexual assault of a 10-year-old girl, the Suffolk County DA announced.
According to his guilty plea and investigation, on March 10, 2021, Carabantes Pineda took the girl to a Riverhead parking lot in a minivan, bound her with duct tape, and proceeded to sexually assault her.
The DA reported that while attempting to fight off Carabantes Pineda, the girl banged on the car windows and screamed for help, catching the attention of a Good Samaritan.
Out of concern, the Good Samaritan knocked on the windows of the minivan and immediately called 911.
He tried to follow behind Carabantes Pineda’s minivan to provide information on the car while on the phone with Riverhead PD.
Authorities allege that upon returning home, Carabantes Pineda put the girl in a different car and drove around with her to “coach” the girl into lying to the police about why she was screaming.
Carabantes Pineda was apprehended by police officers immediately after arriving back at the house.
“The fact that there are individuals who prey on innocent children like this is just incomprehensible,” said District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney.
“But make no mistake, once we catch them, like this defendant, we will do everything in our power to ensure they serve a lengthy prison sentence.”
Further investigation revealed that Carabantes Pineda had been assaulting the girl for months leading up to the incident, prosecutors said.
Carabantes Pineda pleaded guilty to first-degree criminal sexual act on Feb. 24.
In addition to the time in prison, the judge ordered him to 20 years of post-release supervision.
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