Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney today announced that a 41-year-old Southold man[1] was found guilty after a jury trial of sexually abusing his five-year-old niece and raping his ex-fiancé’s nine-year-old child over the course of three years.
“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 District Attorney 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.”
The evidence at trial established that in April 2021, the defendant molested his niece while watching a movie at his girlfriend’s apartment. That night, the victim told her mother what happened, and her mother reported the abuse to the Town of Southold Police Department.
During the police investigation, a child of the defendant’s ex-fiancé also reported having been repeatedly raped by the defendant between 2015 and 2018 when the child was 9-12 years old. The abuse occurred while the defendant was alone with the child while the victim’s mother was at work. The defendant threatened to hurt the victim’s family if the child told anyone about the abuse, so the child kept the abuse a secret. The child disclosed the abuse to their therapist once the investigation into the abuse of the defendant’s niece began.
On October 20, 2023, the defendant was found guilty after a jury trial heard before County Court Judge, the Honorable Karen M. Wilutis, for the following charges:
- One count of Course of Sexual Conduct Against a Child in the First Degree, a Class B violent felony;
- One count of Sexual Abuse in the First Degree, a Class D violent felony; and
- One count of Endangering the Welfare of a Child, Class A misdemeanors.
The defendant is due back in court on November 30, 2023, for sentencing, and faces up to 32 years in prison and 20 years of post-release supervision. The defendant will also be required to register as a sex offender. The defendant is being presented by Scott Zerner, Esq.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney MacDonald Drane of the Child Abuse and Domestic Violence Bureau, with investigative assistance from Detective Sergeant Steven L. Harned of the Town of Southold Police Department and Detective Investigator Lorraine Winters of the District Attorney’s Office.
Criminal complaints and indictments are merely accusatory instruments. Defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty. No one is above the law.
