'Heinous': LI Man Sexually Abused Granddaughter, Since She Was 7: DA

WADING RIVER, NY — A Wading River man, 69, pleaded guilty after sexually abusing his granddaughter for years, beginning when she was seven years old, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said.

The District Attorney’s Office is not naming the man in order to protect the identity of the child victim, Tierney said.

The man pleaded guilty, in the middle of a jury trial, to first-degree course of sexual conduct and other related charges, Tierney said.

According to the investigation and the man's admissions during his guilty plea allocution, between the fall of 2017 and March 2021, the grandfather subjected his granddaughter to repeated acts of sexual abuse whenever she stayed at her grandparents’ house, the DA said.

The girl disclosed the abuse to her mother in July 2022, when she was 12 years old; the girl's mother then told her own mother, the girl’s grandmother and wife of the defendant, Tierney said.

Upon learning that her husband had sexually abused their granddaughter, the girl's grandmother confronted him; he then admitted to the abuse, the DA said.

The family then immediately called the police, and the man was placed under arrest, at which time he again confessed to having sexually abused the child, the DA said.

On Tuesday, he pleaded guilty before Supreme Court Justice Timothy Mazzei to first-degree course of sexual conduct, a Class B violent felony; second-degree course of sexual conduct, a Class D violent felony; and endangering the welfare of a child, a Class A misdemeanor, Tierney said.

He t s due back in court for sentencing on February 26,and faces up to 25 years in prison, followed by 20 years of post-release supervision, the DA said.

He is being represented by Steven Politi. Speaking with Patch, Politi said: "Everyone definitely has the right to plead guilty, just as they have the right to go to trial. I would not recommend doing what he did in this instance, but he decided that was what he wanted to do, for myriad reasons. I don't agree with it, but my client is entitled to plead guilty."

Politi also said that his client "had been deemed incompetent by two state doctors." In the end, after testimony from a third doctor, the judge "found my client competent," Politi said. "I disagree wholeheartedly with the court's findings and believe that my client is, in fact, incompetent."

His client, 69, "thought he was 80," Politi said. Now, Politi said: "The likelihood is that my client is going to die in prison. It's a horrible case, a horrible thing."

He said he felt the trial was going "pretty well in terms of testimony. But the most important thing is that this is what my client wanted — and this is what my client did."

"Children should feel loved and protected while in the company of their grandparents. This defendant, however, perpetrated heinous acts of sexual abuse against his own granddaughter," Tierney said. "Let the message be clear that my office will do everything in our power to protect children."