The Center Moriches man, who was not named by prosecutors to protect the victim’s identity, was arraigned in Suffolk County Court on nearly 50 criminal charges on Wednesday, June 7.
According to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, the accused began sexually abusing his stepdaughter “regularly” when she was 7 years old and continued to do so over the next decade.
The abuse eventually escalated into more “aggressive sexual behavior,” with the man sending the victim lewd photos of himself and asking her to send them back, prosecutors said.
He allegedly threatened her with additional sexual abuse if she did not comply with his photo requests.
Investigators said the defendant was eventually arrested in May 2023 when the victim begged her mother not to be left alone with the man.
The victim and her mother devised a plan to capture the accused by pretending the mother was going to work.
When the woman returned minutes later, she found the defendant, naked, standing next to the victim and attempting to rape her, prosecutors said.
The man was arrested after the victim and her mother reported the incident to police.
“The horrors this child allegedly endured for a full decade of her young life are unfathomable. Children should seek reassurance from their parents, step-parents and guardians and not fear sexual abuse if left alone with them. Abuse,” Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney said in a statement.
“My office will use all the tools at our disposal to ensure that this defendant is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
In court on Wednesday, the defendants were arraigned on charges of:
- One count of predatory sexual assault of a child (felony)
- One Class 1 course sexual conduct charge against a child felony)
- Three counts of felony criminal sexual conduct in the first degree)
- 12 counts of first degree rape (felony)
- One count of attempted rape in the first degree (felony)
- Eight counts of exploiting a child for sexual activity (felony)
- One count of second-degree sexual activity against a child (felony)
- 10 counts of first-degree distribution of indecent material to a minor (felony)
- Eight counts of promoting child sexual activity (felony)
- One count of endangering the welfare of a child (misdemeanor)
He was ordered to remain in Suffolk County Jail until his next court appearance on Thursday, July 27.
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