Former Brookhaven firefighter gets jail in girl's rape

A former Brookhaven volunteer firefighter was sentenced Friday to about 3 months in jail in the statutory rape of a 16-year-old girl who had been his date at a fire department function last year.

Harry Anderson, 45, of Flanders, a construction worker, had pleaded guilty on June 11 to third-degree, or statutory, rape for having sex with the girl when she was under 17 years old.

Before his sentencing in Suffolk County Court, the victim's mother said Anderson called her daughter a "trophy" after the incident. Prosecutors said Anderson had sex with the girl after parking his car on Sunrise Highway in Shirley as he brought her home after the firefighters' party.

"She's not a trophy to put on his mantle," the mother said in court, before Anderson was sentenced to 90 days in jail and 10 years probation.

"He acted like nothing happened, like it was normal," she said. "You rape a girl, and it's normal?"

She broke down in tears and left the courtroom with her daughter, now 17.

Anderson, a former lieutenant in the Brookhaven Fire Department, resigned from the department after his arrest last year, said his attorney, John Ray of Miller Place.

The girl and her mother are not being identified by Newsday because the girl is the victim of a sex crime.

With the girl and her mother outside the courtroom, Ray held up copies of postings from a social-networking website in which he said the girl appeared in suggestive photographs and made sexually explicit comments.

"We should consider what kind of 16-year-old we're dealing with," Ray said.

County Court Judge Barbara Kahn twice interrupted Ray, telling him the victim "is not on trial here," and adding, "Your client, Mr. Anderson, at the age of [44], had sex with this 16-year-old."

The girl's mother said she was disappointed with Anderson's sentence.

"He's in jail where he belongs. I wish it were longer, but it's not," she said outside court. "He feels he did nothing wrong. He's 44, she's 16. It's rape."

She said Anderson had been a family friend who her daughter had considered to be "like an uncle" before he raped her. Her daughter declined to comment.

Assistant District Attorney Laurie Moroff said a plea bargain was struck to avoid having the girl testify in court.

"She's a very shy girl," Moroff said. "It would have been very difficult for her on cross-examination."

Anderson previously served about 30 days in jail after his arrest, before being released on $20,000 bail, Ray said. With time off for good behavior, Anderson could be released in 25 days, Ray said.