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The defendant, who prosecutors did not name due to his age, pleaded guilty to rape and related charges in Suffolk County Court on Tuesday, Dec. 19.
Prosecutors said the boy was 14 years old when he and an accomplice broke into the victim’s Mastic Beach home at around 3:15 p.m. on April 19, 2022.
As they were searching for items to steal, they found a locked bedroom door and kicked it in. Inside, they found a 23-year-old woman and her 4-year-old daughter.
The defendant admitted that he took the victim’s cell phone and made her open it with her passcode.
Then, as his accomplice continued looking for property to steal, he sexually assaulted and strangled the woman in front of her daughter.
He later forced her into a hallway and continued the assault before pulling out a switchblade and slashing her across her head and forehead, prosecutors said.
The boy then stabbed the woman in her upper-left chest, twisting the blade inside of her.
The woman was treated at a hospital and received stitches and staples to her head and face, as well as stitches to her chest area.
In April 2022, the boy confessed to taking part in the burglary during an interview with Suffolk County Police. He also agreed to provide a DNA sample, which investigators later matched to DNA found on the victim.
“The fact that this defendant was 14 years old when he violently raped and stabbed a mother in front of her own child in her own home remains shocking to say the least,” said Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney.
“Thankfully, with this plea the victim will be spared from reliving this horrible crime at trial.”
In court Tuesday, the boy pleaded guilty to the following charges:
- Rape
- Assault
- Burglary
- Endangering the welfare of a child
Due to his age at the time, he faces between 3 ⅓ and ten years in prison when he’s sentenced in February 2024.
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