HUNTINGTON STATION WOMAN AND MAN PLEAD GUILTY TO SEXUALLY EXPLOITING A 14-YEAR-OLD CHILD
Woman Who Sex Trafficked the Child Faces 10 Years in Prison Man Who Sexually Abused the Child Faces 8 Years in Prison
(SUFFOLK COUNTY, N.Y.) – Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney today announced the conviction of a 42-year-old woman and 53-year-old man,1 both of Huntington Station, for crimes associated with the sex trafficking of a 14-year-old child.
“These defendants exploited an innocent child for financial gain by trafficking her and committing repugnant acts of sexual exploitation,” said District Attorney Tierney. “These guilty pleas and ensuing prison sentences will allow the victim to begin to heal from the trauma that she endured, without being subjected to testifying in court against her abusers. My office will continue to support child victims and ensure that sex traffickers and their enablers are held fully accountable for their horrific actions.”
According to the investigation, the female defendant began dating the victim’s mother in 2019 and began to regularly stay at her apartment where she lived with three children, including the 14-year-old victim. The female defendant regularly watched the victim and siblings while their mother was at work.
The District Attorney is not identifying the defendants to protect the identity of the child victim. During these times, the male defendant, who was friends with the female co-defendant, began stopping by the apartment. Both defendants engaged in predatory grooming behaviors such as talking to the victim about engaging in sex with the male defendant.
In November 2019, while the victim’s mother was at work, the then 49-year-old male defendant picked up the victim, then 14 years old, from the apartment and brought the victim to a motel in Huntington, where he raped the victim. Afterwards, he gave the victim cash and directed the victim to give the money to the female defendant.
The female defendant sold the victim to the male defendant for sex at least three more times over the course of the next year – when the victim was between 14 and 15 years old. In each of these instances, the female defendant arranged for the male defendant to take the victim to the same motel where he would subject the victim to sexual acts and then pay the female defendant. All the incidents occurred while the female defendant was caring for the victim and her sibling while their mother was at work.
The victim disclosed the sexual abuse to a counselor in August 2022, after one of the victim’s younger siblings told the victim that they were also approached by the female defendant to engage in similar sexual activity with the male defendant. When the victim learned that the sibling was in danger, the victim disclosed the sexual abuse in order to protect the sibling. Both defendants were arrested on September 13, 2023.
On October 2, 2024, the male defendant pleaded guilty to one count of Aggravated Patronizing a Minor, a Class D felony, and two counts of Rape in the Second Degree, Class D felonies, before Acting Supreme Court Judge Karen M. Wilutis. He is due back in court on November 1, 2024, and is expected to be sentenced to 8 years in prison, followed by 10 years of post-release supervision.
He will be required to register as a sex offender upon his release from prison. He is being represented by William Ferro, Esq.
On October 18, 2024, the female defendant pleaded guilty to Sex Trafficking of a Child, a Class B violent felony, before Acting Supreme Court Judge Karen M. Wilutis.
She is due back in court on November 21, 2024, and is expected to be sentenced to 10 years in prison, followed by 10 years of post-release supervision. She will be required to register as a sex offender upon her release from prison. She is being represented by Scott Zerner, Esq.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Zachary Kelly of the H.E.A.T. Unit (Hate Crimes, Elder Abuse, Anti-Bias/Immigrant Affairs, Human Trafficking), and the investigation was conducted by Detective John Paul O’Connor of the Suffolk County Police Department’s Human Trafficking Investigations Unit.