Rapist Will Get The Minimum Sentence After Admitting To Sexually Abusing Young Girl In Horrific Rockland Case

VILLAGE OF WESLEY HILLS, NY — A man who sexually abused a child for years is getting off much too easy, according to prosecutors.

Rockland County District Attorney Thomas E. Walsh II announced on Friday that 34-year-old Joel Deutsch, of Sullivan County, pleaded guilty to the entire indictment on Thursday, charging him with predatory sexual assault of a child, first-degree course of sexual conduct against a child; and second-degree rape.

According to court documents, between 2017 and 2024, Deutsch sexually abused a girl between the ages of 6 to 14, in the Village of Wesley Hills.

The abuse included physical touching, vaginal intercourse, and oral sexual contact, according to prosecutors.

Deutsch was arrested on July 15.

Prosecutors recommended the maximum sentence of 25 years to life in state prison. The judge promised Deutsch the minimum sentence of 10 years to life in state prison for the top count of predatory sexual assault of a child, according to DA.

Deutsch is scheduled for sentencing on Aug. 26, and will be required to register as a sex offender after being released from prison.

"My Office strongly objected the sentence imposed yesterday as it did not reflect the gravity of the defendant's actions," DA Walsh said. "The rapes and sexual abuse that the victim was subjected to was persistent and went on for several years, and we believed that the facts of this case fully justified the maximum penalty."

The investigation was conducted by the New York State Police Sullivan County Child Abuse Unit, while the case was prosecuted by Senior Assistant DA Kaitlin DeLuca.