Long Beach Man Convicted of Repeated Sexual Abuse

LONG BEACH, NY - A Long Beach man faces up to 25 years in jail after being convicted in a trial that lasted three days of repeatedly sexually abusing an 8-year-old child, according to the Nassau County District Attorney’s office.

Emil Best, 39, was convicted Monday in 35 minutes of two counts of criminal sexual act in the first degree, three counts of sexual abuse in the first degree, and one count of endangering the welfare of a child.

According to Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas, Best began abusing the 8-year-old victim in the fall of 2005 and into the spring of 2006. The victim reported the abuse for the first time to authorities in 2012, Singas said in a news release, and Best was arrested by Long Beach Police Department detectives July 30, 2013.

“The defendant – throughout his entire adult life – has shown a callous disregard for the dignity and well-being of defenseless children,” Singas said. “Robbing a child of his or her innocence is particularly disturbing and our prosecutors will be recommending that he be sentenced to 25 years in prison, the maximum time allowable by law.”

Best is already a level-2 sex offender for a January 2000 conviction of attempted sexual abuse in the first degree for a case involving a 9-year-old, according to Singas, and he has a conviction from December 2008 for endangering the welfare of a child for a case with a 12-year-old.

Best is a prior violent felony offender, Singas said, as he was convicted in July 2010 of assault in the second degree for assaulting a Nassau County corrections officer.

[Photo courtesy of Long Beach Police Department]