An East Northport man was found guilty Wednesday of sexually abusing his great niece over a period of nearly five years.
The Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office said that the man began abusing the girl after the family went to a restaurant to celebrate her graduation from kindergarten in June 2015. While in the restroom, he began abusing her. The abuse continued, whenever the child visited the man’s home, until the last incident in May 2020.
The victim told her mother about the abuse in April 2022, when she was 12 years old, during a conversation concerning the victim’s depression and self-image. Her mother reported the abuse to the police, and Suffolk County Police arrested him on April 13, 2022.
“Because of this defendant’s horrific actions, his great niece’s memory of her last day of kindergarten will not be a happy one – it will be a reminder of the day that her sexual abuse by a trusted family member began,” said District Attorney Ray Tierney. “As a result of her courage in coming forward to testify against her abuser, the defendant now faces a lengthy prison sentence where he can no longer hurt her.”
The District Attorney is not naming the defendant in order to protect the identity of the child
victim.
He was convicted of Course of Sexual Conduct Against a Child in the First Degree, a Class B violent felony, and Endangering the Welfare of a Child, a Class A misdemeanor,
He and faces up to 25 years in The defendant is due back in court for sentencing on April 19, 2024, and faces up to 25 years in prison and 20 years of post-release supervision.