Man pleads guilty to abusing kids at unlicensed day care
A Patchogue man pleaded guilty Friday to six counts of child abuse for molesting eight girls at an unlicensed day care he ran with his wife at his home, according to the Suffolk County district attorney’s office.
Angel Tacuri, 53, admitted to six of the 15 charges he was indicted on by a Suffolk County grand jury. He admitted to molesting children between the ages of 3 and 10 between 2010 and 2015, according to the district attorney’s office.
Tacuri was first arrested in January 2021 and charged with molesting a relative. Three additional victims came forward, including another relative and two girls from the day care, which stopped operating in 2015. He was arrested again last year and indicted after two more victims came forward to police, prosecutors said.
“This defendant exploited these innocent child victims for his own depraved gratification through the access available to him at his wife’s unlicensed day care center,” Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said. “No guilty plea will ever ameliorate the trauma inflicted on these victims, but at the very least, this plea holds him responsible for his actions and prevents him from causing more harm to others.”
Tacuri’s defense attorney could not be reached for comment.
In some cases, Tacuri told his victims they were going to play a game with him, then abused them and offered a prize afterward, prosecutors said.
Tacuri pleaded guilty to three counts of course of first-degree sexual conduct against a child, one count of criminal sexual act in the first degree, and two counts of first-degree sexual abuse.
As part of the plea, Tacuri will be sentenced June 16 to 20 years in prison and 20 years of post-release supervision. He originally faced up to 50 years in prison.
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.
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