Man Indicted After Sexually Abusing Stepdaughter, Fleeing Country: DA

BRENTWOOD, NY — A Brentwood man was indicted on Thursday, for charges of repeated sexual assaults against his then 14-year-old stepdaughter between 2002 and 2003 — then fleeing the country for about 20 years, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said.

In March 2002, the man, locked his then 14-year-old stepdaughter in a room and forcibly raped her while her mother was at work, according to the investigation. He threatened to kill
the victim or her mother if the victim told anyone what he had done.

The District Attorney's office refrained from using names, to protect the privacy of the victim and her mother.

The alleged abuse occurred in Brentwood, the District Attorney's office confirmed with Patch.

The man continued to rape and sexually abuse her until June 2003, when she told her friend about the abuse, prosecutors said.

Thanks to the suggestion of the friend, she later recorded a conversation between herself and the then stepfather.

In the recorded conversation, the man admitted to having intercourse with her and taking her for an abortion after she became pregnant, prosecutors sai.

The girl's friend gave that recording to her own mother, who shared it with the girl's mother.

Upon learning about the abuse of her daughter, the girl's mother confronted the man, and he fled from the United States before the police were notified and able to apprehend him.

In September 2003, the man was indicted by a Suffolk County Grand Jury for the following charges:

• Four counts of first-degree rape
• One count of first-degree sodomy
• Four counts of first-degree sexual abuse
• One count of endangering the welfare of a child

In 2021, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office was made aware that the defendant may be
living in El Salvador. Following an investigation, the District Attorney’s Office began extradition proceedings to bring the defendant back to Suffolk County to face these charges.

With the assistance of the United States Marshals Service and Suffolk County Police Department detectives, the defendant was brought back to Suffolk County on Wednesday.

“This defendant allegedly repeatedly raped and sexually assaulted his 14-year-old stepdaughter, and then fled to El Salvador after the abuse was first discovered in 2003,” said Tierney. “Thanks to our partnerships with law enforcement agencies here and around the world, our message is clear to those who would prey upon children. There is no safe place for you to hide. No matter how long it takes, we will do everything in our power to find you, bring you back to Suffolk County to be held accountable for your actions.”

On Thursday, the man was arraigned on the indictment by County Court Judge, the Honorable Karen M. Wilutis, who ordered the defendant remanded during the pendency of the
case.

He is due back in court on Dec. 15.

Patch could not reach Thomas Barra, Esq., the man's attorney, for comment.