Brentwood day care worker Reynaldo Estrada accused of sexually abusing girl
Little Lamb ABC Daycare at 257 Vanderbilt Ave. in Brentwood on Thursday. Credit: James Carbone
A Brentwood day care employee who was the husband of the facility's owner sexually abused a then 10-year-old girl who was under his care in 2020, Suffolk County police said.
Following an investigation by Special Victims Section detectives, Reynaldo Estrada, 62, of Vanderbilt Avenue in Brentwood, was arrested at his home shortly after 3 p.m. on Wednesday, police said.
He pleaded not guilty to three counts of first-degree sexual abuse and three counts of endangering the welfare of a child.
Judge F. Scott Carrigan set bail at Estrada's arraignment on Thursday at First District Court in Central Islip at $50,000 cash or partially secured surety bond or $100,000 insured bond. A temporary order of protection also was ordered.
Michael Alber, Estrada's Huntington Station-based defense attorney, urged against a rush to judgment.
“Mr. Estrada is a family man who has not been in trouble for any type of allegation like this before,” Alber said. “From our perspective, a proper investigation and fully vetting the credibility and reliability of what's being reported is going to determine that a crime wasn't committed at all.”
Authorities said Estrada, who worked at Little Lamb ABC Daycare in Brentwood, sexually abused the girl at the facility in August and September of 2020.
The child, who is now 13, came forward following another incident of abuse by Estrada that took place earlier this month, officials said.
A message left at the day care facility was not immediately returned.
Detectives are asking anyone with information on this case, or who believes their child may be a victim of Estrada, to contact the Special Victims Section at 631-852-6531.
Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.
