Hispanic man convicted of sexually abusing his stepdaughter for five years in a Long Island home
The attacks began in 2014 when the victim, who was only 6 years old, and her mother moved in with the suspect
A man of Guatemalan origin, who was deported and had an ICE detainer, was found guilty of years of sexually abusing his 6-year-old stepdaughter on Long Island.
The 40-year-old offender, whose name officials withheld to protect the The victim waited for the girl's mother to leave their home in Riverhead for work in order to sexually abuse the underage victim.
The mother worked the early morning shift at a deli six days a week.
According to the authorities' report, as reported by the New York Post, the accused would take the girl to his bed every morning and abuse her for approximately two hours each day before leaving for work at 5:30 a.m.
Years of abuse against the victim
The attacks began in 2014 when the victim, who was only 6 years old, and her mother moved in with the suspect.
“What this little girl went through in her own home is unimaginable,” said Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney.
The abuse continued for five years, as the girl was too young to understand what was happening.
She only realized it when a school social worker gave a presentation about the difference between good and bad physical contact, when she was nine years old and in fourth grade.
Although the girl began telling her stepfather to stop, the abuse persisted until 2019, when he began threatening her.
The girl also feared that speaking out would destroy the family.
The suspect had been deported years earlier
The man had already been deported from the United States in 2006. It is unclear when he returned to the country.
By 2023, the subject was no longer living with the mother and daughter, but the trauma had noticeably interfered with her daily life and school.
The girl finally told her mother about the abuse, and they reported it to the Southampton Police Department that same year.The man was arrested shortly afterward. “It is thanks to her courage and strength that my office was able to obtain justice for her and her family today,” Tierney said. The suspect was convicted Wednesday of sexual conduct against a minor and faces up to 25 years in prison. He will be sentenced on February 4 and, after serving his sentence, will be returned to ICE custody.