Lengthy sentence for Riverhead man in sex assault of girl, 10
A Riverhead man was sentenced Thursday to 23 years to life in prison for what prosecutors called the "brutal sexual assault" of a 10-year-old girl in March 2021.
Jose Carabantes Pineda, 37, pleaded guilty Feb. 24 to first-degree criminal sexual act before Judge Karen M. Wilutis. In addition to at least 23 years in prison, Wilutis ordered 20 years of post-release supervision for Carabantes Pineda.
In his February plea, Carabantes Pineda admitted that on March 20, 2021, he drove the victim to the parking lot of the Big Lots store in Riverhead, bound her with duct tape, and assaulted her in the back of a minivan. In a news statement Thursday, the office of Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said the child "screamed and banged on the windows of the vehicle in hopes that someone would help her" as she attempted to fight Carabantes Pineda.
The district attorney's office said a good Samaritan heard the girl screaming, knocked on the "heavily tinted and fogged windows" of the minivan, then called 911 to report the incident to the Riverhead Police Department as he tried to follow the minivan from the parking lot.
Authorities said upon returning home, Carabantes Pineda placed the girl into a different vehicle, then "drove around with the victim" so he could "coach her into telling police that she was screaming because they had just sideswiped a car."
Riverhead police arrested Carabantes Pineda. The district attorney's office said the subsequent investigation recovered the duct tape used to bind the girl's hands, and a Sexual Assault Forensic Examination conducted at Peconic Bay Medical Center recovered DNA from Carabantes Pineda "on the child's body." Further investigation determined Carabantes Pineda had been sexually abusing the girl "for months" leading up to the incident, Tierney said.
“The bravery of this young victim to fight back against her abuser, the quick reaction of a good Samaritan, and the swift response by the Riverhead Police Department are the reason this predator was apprehended,” Tierney said: “The fact that there are individuals who prey on innocent children like this, is just incomprehensible. But make no mistake, once we catch them, like this defendant, we will do everything in our power to ensure they serve a lengthy prison sentence.”
John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”
