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Ulster County resident Benjamin Santiago, age 28, of Saugerties, was sentenced by Judge Bryan Rounds in Ulster County Court to 20 years to life on Monday, March 20.
The sentence comes after a June 2022 conviction of predatory sexual abuse against a child, following an investigation by the Ulster County Family and Child Advocacy Center of Santiago’s crimes.
The Advocacy Center was assisted by members of the Town of Saugerties Police Department.
“This case has shaken all those who were involved in it; from the investigators, the case workers, and the victim’s advocates to the grand jurors who heard the evidence in this case”. Deputy Chief Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth Culmone-Mills said. “I want to thank the investigators for their dedication to this investigation and the grand jurors who spent many emotional and exhausting days hearing evidence in this case”.
Officials said the victim’s mother showed unimaginable strength for her child: "She is the epitome of a strong mother who pulled all her willpower to hold this defendant accountable for his heinous act against her child,” said Ulster County Assistant District Attorney Jenna Hastings said.
During sentencing, Judge Rounds said that Santiago had destroyed his victim’s childhood.
"He can’t control himself and has no insight as to why. That, coupled with his intelligence, makes him a special kind of dangerous," the judge added.
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