LI Man Slated For Sentencing After Raping, Strangling Woman: DA

SHIRLEY, NY — A Shirley man is slated for sentencing Monday after pleading guilty to raping and strangling a woman in broad daylight in Coram last year.

Jesse Diaz, 30, pleaded guilty in June to raping and strangling the woman, who was taking a footpath through a wooded area in the vicinity of Route 112, said Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney.

According to court documents and the Diaz's own admission, on May 27, 2021, Diaz accosted her behind as she walked home from a convenience store in Coram, prosecutors said.

He rushed up behind her, came around her, and demanded she go with him. When she refused, Diaz grabbed the woman and pulled on her, prosecutors said. As she struggled, she managed to scratch Diaz’ face with her fingernails; he then grabbed her by the neck and strangled her with such force that she lost consciousness, Tierney said.

When she came to, Diaz was dragging her by the throat, with her feet trailing along the ground; she lost consciousness a second time and awoke face down on the ground, deeper onto the
wooded path, Tierney said.

Diaz then sexually assaulted the woman and repeatedly threatened that she would die there in the woods, Tierney said. After the rape, Diaz ran, Tierney said.

The woman was treated at Stony Brook University Hospital for her injuries.

At the time of his June 2, 2021, arrest on Montauk Highway in Shirley, Diaz had injuries to his face consistent with the scratches that the woman reported, Tierney said.

After a court-ordered DNA swab was taken from Diaz and processed by the crime lab, the DNA matched Diaz, Tierney said.

He was arrested and charged with first-degree rape and second-degree strangulation.

At the time he raped the woman, Diaz had outstanding matters in district court for misdemeanors and violations, but he was out of custody as they are not bail-eligible offenses, Tierney said.

Diaz is represented by Melissa Kanas of the Legal Aid and faces up to 25 years behind bars.