Suffolk Man Gets 23 Years For Sexually Abusing Great Niece: DA

SUFFOLK COUNTY, NY — A 67-year-old man was sentenced to 23 years in prison followed by 20 years of post-release supervision after he was found guilty of sexually abusing his great niece for years, Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney announced Friday.

The abuse began at a celebration for her kindergarten graduation, the DA said.

"Sexual abuse has devastating and lifelong effects on anyone who is a victim of it, especially innocent children," Tierney said in a news release. "I hope that the significant prison sentence imposed today is a deterrent to anyone who may want to prey on children."

The man was not named by the DA in order to protect the girl's identity.

In June 2015, the girl's family took her to a restaurant to celebrate her kindergarten graduation, investigators said. When the girl needed to use the restroom, her great uncle took her there, officials said. After the girl used the bathroom, her great uncle pulled down his pants and sexually abused her, authorities said. The abuse continued whenever the girl visited her great uncle's home, until the last incident in May 2020, prosecutors said.

The girl told her mother about the abuse in April 2022, when she was 12 years old, during a conversation concerning the girl's depression and self-image, the DA said. Her mother reported the abuse to the Suffolk police, and the great uncle was arrested on April 13, 2022, authorities said.

The man was convicted of first-degree course of sexual conduct against a child and endangering the welfare of a child on March 20.

The man is also required to register as a sex offender. He was represented by Christopher Brocato.