Long Island man pleads guilty to raping his 7-year-old stepdaughter for 10 years: prosecutor

CENTER MORICHES, NY — A Center Moriches man pleaded guilty Thursday to repeatedly raping his stepdaughter over a 10-year period, beginning when she was just 7 years old, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said.

In order to protect the girl’s identity, the public prosecutor’s office does not mention the name of the 36-year-old defendant.

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He was arrested after the girl and her mother hatched a plan to catch him “red-handed,” the prosecutor said.

He pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree sexual abuse, the prosecutor said.

According to court documents and the man’s confessions during his guilty plea, he raped his stepdaughter regularly sometime between 2014 and May 2023, starting when she was seven years old. The abuse continued for years; he physically assaulted the child when she resisted, the prosecutor said.

Over time, his abuse escalated to include anal sex with the child, the prosecutor said.

He also sent the victim obscene pictures of himself and asked the girl to send him pictures of herself as well. In order to get the illegal pictures, he threatened to subject her to frequent anal sex, Tienrey said.

In May 2023, the girl begged her mother not to leave her alone with him – and when her mother asked why, she told her mother what he had done to her, Tierney said.

When the girl and her mother learned this information, they hatched a plan to catch the man.
the act, Tierney said.

The girl’s mother pretended to go to work, and when she returned a few minutes later through a side door that she had left unlocked, she found the man standing completely naked over the girl, attempting to rape her again, Tierney said.

The girl’s mother then stopped him from completing the act; the girl reported the abuse to the police shortly afterwards and he was later arrested, the prosecutor said.

On June 20, he pleaded guilty before Acting Supreme Court Judge Karen M. Wilutis to first-degree sexual abuse of a child, a violent crime, Tierney said.

He is due back in court on July 29 to hear the verdict. He will be sentenced to 20 years in prison, followed by 20 years of probation after his release, the prosecutor said.

He is represented by James DeAngelo, who was not immediately available for comment.

“This guilty plea represents a significant step toward justice for the victim, who demonstrated remarkable courage throughout the process,” Tierney said. “The defendant’s admission of guilt after years of abusing his position of trust as a stepfather underscores the importance of supporting survivors and believing their voices. We commend the victim’s courage in coming forward after a decade of abuse to her mother. Our firm remains committed to vigorously pursuing these cases and providing unwavering support to survivors of sexual abuse.”