A Long Island man repeatedly raped his little cousin starting when she was 5 — sometimes in front of her younger brother and while threatening to kill her and her beloved cat if she told anyone, officials say.
The unidentified Riverhead fiend, 20, pleaded guilty Friday to raping the child.
“This defendant [who] was entrusted to care for his younger cousins instead subjected one of them to unthinkable sexual abuse for years of her young life,” said Suffolk District Attorney Tierney in a press release.
“This guilty plea … will ensure that the victim can begin to heal from the trauma that she endured without being subjected to testifying in court against her abuser and cousin,” Tierney said.
The abuse began in in 2018 when the man began living with the family, the DA’s office said. He was supposed to babysit his two little cousins and make sure they got on the bus for school in the morning while the parents were working.
The abuse was finally put to an end when the man — who is not being named by the DA’s Office to protect the victim — raped the girl, who was 9 at the time, in front of her brother, then 6, authorities said. The boy placed the cat on the bed during the act while noticing his sister in distress and the animal scratched the man, ending the abuse, they said.
After the March 2022 incident, the mother began noticing the children were apprehensive about being alone with their older cousin and the boy admitted that the defendant “hurts” his sister and described what happened, officials said.
“The mother immediately called the police, and the defendant was arrested,” the press released said.
On Friday, the man pleaded guilty to first-degree rape. He is expected back in court for sentencing Sept. 6.
The Legal Aid Society of Suffolk County did not immediately respond to a Post request for comment.
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