'Heinous Crime': Man Sentenced After Raping 14-Year-Old On LI, Impregnating Her, Fleeing Country: DA

NORTH FORK, NY — A Guatemalan national was sentenced to 17 years in prison Tuesday after raping a 14-year-old and impregnating her — and then fleeing the country, Suffolk County District Ray Tierney said.

According to Tierney, Lazaro Alberto Huertasperez, 30, was sentenced after pleading guilty in November to first-degree rape and other related charges.

Although the initial investigation was handled by Southold Town police, the DA did not immediately specify where the incident took place.

Huertasperez sexually abused the 14-year-old child after providing her with a glass of water that contained a substance that caused her to lose the ability to control her body, Tierney said.

According to court documents and the defendant’s admissions during his guilty plea allocution, during the summer of 2021, the girl was waiting for a ride to the laundromat. Huertasperez, who lived in the same multi-family house as the child, offered the victim a glass of water, the DA said.

When the girl drank the water, she began to feel drowsy and attempted to go upstairs, Tierney said. As she walked, Huertasperez grabbed her around her waist and began to carry her, the DA said. The girl began to black out and could not control her arms or feel her legs; she remembered being carried to Huertasperez’s room but then lost consciousness, Tierney said.

When the victim woke up, she was in Huertasperez’s bed and in pain, the DA said.

About nine months later, the girl gave birth to a child, Tierney said.

In April 2022, upon learning of the birth, Huertasperez fled Suffolk County and boarded a flight to Guatemala, the DA said. Subsequent paternity testing corroborated the victim’s allegations — that he was the biological father of the child, Tierney said.

On October 23, 2024, Huertasperez was arrested at the United States border when he attempted to illegally re-enter the country, Tierney said. United States Customs and Border Patrol became aware that Suffolk County had an outstanding warrant for Huertasperez’s arrest and notified the Suffolk County Police Department's fugitive unit, who then brought him back to Suffolk County to face charges, the DA said.

On November 5, Huertasperez pleaded guilty to charges before Acting Supreme Court Justice Karen Wilutis, including first-degree rape, a Class B violent felony; second-degree rape, a Class D violent felony; sexual misconduct, a Class A misdemeanor; and endangering the welfare of a child, a Class A misdemeanor, the DA said.

On December 9, 2025, Huertasperez was sentenced to 17 years in prison. He was represented by Chase Brown. "In an extremely tough case, Mr. Huertasperez accepted responsibility — but we were able to avoid a 25-year sentence that he would have faced, had he gone to trial," Brown said.

"Huertasperez committed a heinous crime. No child should ever go through the trauma that the 14-year-old victim in this case went through," said Tierney. "I hope today’s sentence serves as a reminder that my office will do everything in our power to protect children from predators."

The United States Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement has lodged a detainer to deport Huertasperez after he serves his sentence, the DA said.