Suffolk Man Sentenced To 50 Years In Prison For Raping Child: DA

CENTRAL ISLIP, NY — A man was sentenced to 50 years in prison after a jury found him guilty of sexually abusing a child for the span of about one year, Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney announced on Friday.

Jimmy Celestine, of Central Islip, also received 20 years of post-release supervision by Judge Karen M. Wilutis. He was found guilty April 5 of charges of first-degree rape, first-degree criminal sexual act, and endangering the welfare of a child.

According to evidence at trial, Celestine began sexually abusing the child when she was 10 years old. The abuse continued until she was 11.

Celestine's attorney, Christopher Brocato, told Patch his client was accused of abusing the child between March 1, 2019, and May 29, 2019.

The District Attorney's Office did not name Celestine in the case, but Brocato allowed Patch to use his name.

The child secretly recorded conversations that she had with Celestine, in which she confronted him about the abuse and he made incriminating statements.

A jury trial began in March, Brocato told Patch.

The child provided those recordings to the Suffolk County Police Department when she reported the crime, and those recordings were introduced as evidence during the trial, prosecutors said.

“While the efforts of the victim to bring her abuser to justice were heroic, it should go without saying that no child should ever be subjected to sexual abuse,” said Tierney. “As for the defendant, he will spend decades in a prison cell far away from the victim and the residents of Suffolk County. My office will continue to prosecute to the fullest extent of the law, anyone who hurts children.”

Brocato told Patch that Celestine does not agree with the jury's verdict and he plans to appeal.

"He's, he's confident that the appellate court will see you this way," said Brocato.