Darwin Barbacastillo of Brentwood charged in sexual assault of girl, 4, while family slept
A Brentwood man faces multiple charges for allegedly entering a Bay Shore home while a family inside slept and sexually assaulting a 4-year-old girl, the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office said Wednesday.
Darwin Barbacastillo, 27, appeared in a court Wednesday where he pleaded not guilty to felony charges listed in an indictment as predatory sexual assault of a child, first-degree criminal sexual act, burglary, sexual abuse, and a misdemeanor charge of endangering the welfare of a child, prosecutors said in a news release.
“This defendant allegedly invaded the privacy of a home to commit a heinous act of sexual abuse of a 4-year-old child,” Suffolk County District Attoney Ray Tierney said in the release.
Suffolk County Judge Karen Wilutis ordered Barbacastillo held without bail until the case is concluded, according to the release. His Central Islip-based attorney, Ian Fitzgerald, declined to comment Wednesday.
Prosecutors allege that Barbacastillo got into the home at 8 a.m. on Oct. 29 "through a back door" as the family slept, according to the release, which did not say whether the door was locked.
Police reviewed video surveillance footage from inside the home that allegedly shows Barbacastillo walking through the residence and testing bedroom doors to see if any are unlocked, and looking in the bedrooms of ones that are, prosecutors said.
Barbacastillo entered a bedroom where the 4-year-old girl and her 9-year-old sister were sleeping, according to prosecutors. He "began to sexually abuse the 4-year-old girl, causing her to wake up," prosecutors said in the release. Barbacastillo then fled the home, according to the release.
The girl's father found her and the sister in the hallway crying, prosecutors said. The 4-year-old then told him about the alleged sexual assault. Prosecutors said the father was able to identify Barbacastillo on the surveillance video as someone "he had previously met a couple times through mutual friends," the release said. The police arrested Barbacastillo later the same day.
Barbacastillo is scheduled to return to court Dec. 19.
John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.
