LI Man Pleads Guilty To Raping Cousin For Years, Starting At Age 5: DA

RIVERHEAD, NY — A Riverhead man pleaded guilty Friday to raping his cousin for four years, beginning from the time when she was just 5 years old — and threatening to kill her and her cat if she told anyone, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said.

According to court documents and the defendant’s admissions during his plea allocation, in August 2018, the defendant began living with the child's family, Tierney said. The defendant, whose name was not released to protect the identity of the child victim, acted as a babysitter to his two cousins who also lived in the home, including the female child, who was 5 years old at the time, and her 2-year-old brother, Tierney said.

The defendant also helped in getting the children off the school bus while their parents were working, Tierney said.

Between August 2018 and March 2022, the defendant repeatedly raped the victim during the times he was home alone watching the children, the DA said. When the victim told the defendant that she would tell her mother what he was doing, the defendant threatened that he would kill her or her beloved pet cat if she said anything, Tierney said.

In March 2022, the defendant raped the victim, who was then nine years old, in front of her brother, who was then six years old, Tierney said. After seeing his sister in distress, the boy put the victim’s cat on the bed where the rape was occurring, and the cat scratched the defendant, which stopped the abuse, Tierney said.

Shortly after that day, the victim’s mother noticed that the children were apprehensive about being alone with the defendant, the DA said. When the mother inquired why, the boy told her what he saw happen to his sister, and told her that the defendant “hurts” the girl, the DA said.

The mother immediately called the police, and the defendant was arrested, Tierney said.

On Friday, the defendant pleaded guilty before County Court Judge Karen M. Wilutis to the charge of first-degree rape, a Class B violent felony, Tierney said.

He is due back in court for sentencing on September 6 and is being represented by the Legal Aid Society.

"This defendant, who was entrusted to care for his younger cousins, instead subjected one of them to unthinkable sexual abuse for years of her young life," said Tierney. "This guilty plea and ensuing prison sentence will ensure that the victim can begin to heal from the trauma that she endured without being subjected to testifying in court against her abuser and cousin."