A Melville man pleaded guilty Monday to sexually abusing his seven-year-old niece in August.
“This defendant violated the innocence of a seven-year-old child to satisfy his own despicable sexual desires,” said District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney. “This plea will hold the defendant accountable while sparing the young victim from having to face her uncle in court and testify about the horrific
abuse that she endured.”
According to court documents and the defendant’s admissions during his guilty plea allocution, on Aug. 11, the defendant spent the evening at his sister’s home. After everyone went to bed, the defendant went into his niece’s bedroom and subjected her to sexual abuse. He told her that what he was doing was exercise, and that it would make her strong.
The next day, the victim’s mother noticed unusual behavior from the child, and asked her what was wrong. The
victim told her mother what the defendant had done to her, and the mother reported it to the police.
The District Attorney’s Office is not naming the defendant in order to protect the identities of the victim and the child witnesses.
The man was arrested Aug. 14 by detectives from the Suffolk County Police Department, to whom he made admissions to sexually abusing the child.
At the time this incident occurred, the defendant was already registered as a sex offender from a 2008 conviction for Attempted Rape in the First Degree.
On November 13, 2023, the defendant pleaded guilty to the following charges:
Two counts of Criminal Sexual Act in the First Degree, Class B violent felonies;
One count of Sexual Abuse in the First Degree, a Class D violent felony;
One count of Sexual Abuse in the Second Degree, a Class A misdemeanor; and
One count of Endangering the Welfare of a Child, a Class A misdemeanor.
The defendant is due back in court for sentencing on Dec. 20, 2023.