Press Release

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that a 60-year-old Queens Village man was sentenced to 25 years in prison for a pattern of persistent and escalating sexual abuse against his daughter including intercourse. The man initiated the sexual abuse with his then 10-year-old child during school break visits then increased the assaults once he became the custodial parent. A jury convicted the family member of rape and other crimes following a six-day trial last month.

District Attorney Katz said: “This defendant violated the most fundamental duty a parent can hold by inflicting harm on his young daughter. It is because the incredibly courageous survivor came forward that the defendant has now been held accountable for his reprehensible behavior. This jury conviction is a message to individuals who seek to abuse children in Queens County that they will be aggressively prosecuted by my office.”

The defendant, 60, of Queens Village, was convicted by a jury on June 29 of rape in the first degree, course of sexual conduct against a child in the first degree and incest in the first degree. Supreme Court Justice Ira Margulis sentenced him on July 29 to 25 years in prison and 20 years of post-release supervision. He will be required to register as a sex offender upon his release.

DA Katz said that, according to the charges and trial testimony, around May 2021, the defendant’s daughter began visiting the defendant from out-of-state during school breaks such as summer vacation. In January 2022, the defendant called his then 10-year-old child to his bedroom. He removed her clothing and raped her. The abuse continued, approximately every few months, during custodial visits.

In July 2023, the defendant became the primary custodian of his then 11-year-old daughter and the child moved into his home. He raped the child on a regular basis, sometimes multiple times a week. The victim disclosed the abuse to a family member in May 2024 and the defendant was arrested.

Assistant District Attorney Sean Jaime of the District Attorney’s Special Victims Bureau prosecuted the case with the assistance of Assistant District Attorney Samantha Tighe under the supervision of Assistant District Attorneys Brian Hughes, Bureau Chief, Lauren Parson and Tracey Downing, Deputy Chiefs, George Kanellopoulos, Assistant Deputy Chief, and under the overall supervision of Executive District Attorney for Special Prosecutions Jared R. Rosenblatt.