Babysitter Sentenced To Prison For Sexually Abusing Kids: DA

COMMACK, NY - A Florida man was sentenced to 18 years in prison on Friday for sexually abusing three young children while working as a babysitter in Suffolk County between 2009 and 2014, according to Suffolk County District Attorney Timothy D. Sini.

Benjamin Fielman, 27, of Century, Florida, was sentenced by Suffolk County Court Justice Barbara Kahn to 18 years in prison followed by 20 years of post-release supervision, the DA said.

He is currently serving a 10-year sentence of imprisonment in Florida, where he is registered as a sexual predator after pleading guilty to felony sex crimes involving children in June 2017, the DA said. The two sentences will run concurrently.

Fielman is convicted of sexually abusing and taking sexually explicit photos and videos of three unrelated children between the ages of 7 and 11 years old, according to Sini.

He was employed as a babysitter for the children while he was living in Commack during that time, the DA said.

In April 2014, Suffolk County Police was contacted by Florida law enforcement officials after they arrested Fielman on charges related to sexual abuse of a child, the DA said.

During the Florida investigation, authorities found he was in possession of child pornography and determined that it originated in Suffolk County.

Florida authorities contacted the department’s Computer Crimes Unit, which investigated the origin of the images and videos through the files’ metadata and was able to identify the victims.

Fielman was indicted by a Suffolk County Grand Jury on May 22, 2015 on two counts of first degree course of sexual conduct against a child, two counts of second degree course of sexual conduct against a child, 11 counts of promoting a sexual performance by a child as a sexually motivated felony; 11 counts of use of a child in a sexual performance as a sexually motivated felony; and endangering the welfare of a child, Sini said.

He pleaded guilty to all 27 counts on the indictment on May 24, according to the DA.

On March 8, 2018, Fielman was extradited from Florida by detectives from the Suffolk County Police Fugitive Squad. He was returned to Suffolk County to face the charges against him in New York.

“This defendant used his position of trust and guardianship to victimize young children for his own sick sexual gratification,” Sini said. “While there is no amount of jail time that can alleviate the trauma he caused his victims, today’s sentence is a significant step toward holding him accountable for his depraved actions and preventing more children from having to suffer at the hands of this individual.”

“The Suffolk County Police Department will continue to work with our various law enforcement partners to protect our region’s children and get sexual predators off our streets,” Suffolk County Police Commissioner Geraldine Hart said.

Image via SCDA