(SUFFOLK COUNTY, N.Y.) – Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney today announced that a Guatemalan national[1], 40, was sentenced to 23 years in prison after a jury found him guilty of Course of Sexual Conduct Against a Child in December for repeatedly sexually abusing his stepdaughter over the span of five years.
“The jury’s verdict affirms that this defendant is a predator who exploited his access to an innocent child for years,” said District Attorney Tierney. “We are committed to seeking maximum penalties for those who prey on children, and we will not rest until every victim receives justice.”
The evidence at trial established that in 2014, the victim moved to Riverhead with her mother, and they began living in a room in a house with the defendant, her stepfather. The mother left home at approximately 3:30 a.m. six days a week to go to work at a deli, while the defendant was home until approximately 5:30 a.m. before leaving for work. The victim, who was six years old at the time, testified that the defendant began waking her up after her mother left for work and carrying her into his bed, where he sexually abused her. The abuse continued for years, and the victim did not realize initially that what the defendant was doing to her was wrong because she trusted him and she was too young to understand what was happening.
When the victim was nine years old, a presentation about good and bad touches was given to her fourth-grade class by a school social worker, and the victim learned for the first time that what the defendant was doing was wrong. The victim began to tell the defendant to stop, and the sexual abuse became less frequent, but continued. The last incident occurred in 2019, but the victim did not disclose the abuse to an adult because the defendant threatened her and she did not want to break up her family. In 2023, the defendant was no longer living with the family, but the trauma the victim endured was negatively impacting her life and schoolwork. The victim told her mother and the police. On October 19, 2023, the defendant was arrested following an investigation by the Southampton Town Police Department.
On December 17, 2025, the defendant was convicted after a jury trial, heard before Acting Supreme Court Justice Karen M. Wilutis, of Course of Sexual Conduct Against a Child, a Class B violent felony.
On February 4, 2026, the defendant was sentenced to 23 years in prison followed by 20 years of post-release supervision. He was represented by the Legal Aid Society.
DHS-ICE lodged a detainer to return the defendant to ICE custody after he serves his sentence. He had also been previously deported in 2006.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Ashley Moruzzi and Sean Murphy of the Child Abuse and Domestic Violence Bureau, with assistance from District Attorney Investigator Robert Fichett. The investigation was conducted by Detective Michael Algozzino of the Southampton Town Police Department.
[1] The District Attorney is not naming the defendant to protect the identity of the child victims.