Cops: Man charged in Huntington sexual assault of teen
A Huntington Station man was arrested Tuesday and charged in the sexual assault of a 16-year-old girl Sunday morning in Huntington village, an attack caught on village surveillance cameras, Suffolk police said.
Daniel Adum, 19, punched the teen in the face as she walked with a friend near Main Street, held her down and sexually assaulted her, prosecutors said.
“This was a heinous crime and we brought all resources to bear to take this predator off the streets in less than 48 hours,” Police Commissioner Geraldine Hart said at a news conference at the Second Precinct station house in Huntington.
The assault was captured on video by Huntington village surveillance cameras, which also filmed Adum’s car, a white Honda Civic with a black racing stripe, driving away, officials said.
Adum, who has no prior arrests, was taken into custody by a Suffolk detective Tuesday morning after a traffic stop on New York Avenue in Huntington, Hart said.
An Ecuadorian national with legal U.S. residency, Adum was arraigned in First District Court in Central Islip and charged with first-degree criminal sexual act and second-degree aggravated sexual abuse, both felonies.
Prosecutors said Adum, who appeared in court without shoes and communicated through a Spanish translator, was identified by the victim and confessed to the crime later.
Judge Gaetan Lozito, citing the seriousness of the charges and Adum's family connections in Ecuador, held him on $150,000 cash or $350,000 bond and ordered he stay away from the victim, as well as her friend. If convicted, Adum faces a maximum sentence of 25 years to life in prison.
Adum's attorney, Robert Macedonio of Islip Terrace, said his client denied sexually assaulting the girl.
"These are very serious allegations and we are going to vigorously defend him," Macedonio said
Adum did not speak to reporters as he was taken from the station house Tuesday morning.
The assault occurred as the victim was walking with a female friend, also 16, about 1 a.m. after being dropped off in the parking lot behind the Panera Bread restaurant, officials said.
The girls saw the suspect exposing himself on Main Street and, concerned for their safety, began to move quickly, turning onto the more secluded Prospect Street, Hart said.
Adum caught up with them, knocked the victim to the ground and sexually assaulted her, Hart said. The friend fled the scene to get help, Hart said.
The victim, who did not know Adum, was taken to a hospital for treatment, police said. She provided detectives with a detailed description of the suspect, Hart said.
Suffolk District Attorney Tim Sini called the attack rare, noting that most sexual assaults are committed by individuals who know the victim.
"This is a very rare occurrence for Suffolk County and is extremely troubling," Sini said.
Hart said the cameras were key to helping detectives make an arrest so quickly.
"The Town of Huntington cameras were such a large part of this investigation," Hart said. "We started with nothing, when you think about it. We just had a random victim and to build on the case and use technology in that fashion was extremely helpful."
Authorities said they have no indication that Adum has assaulted other women and no open cases fit his description.
Adum is due back in court on Nov. 16.
Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.
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