Lester Pettaway charged in rape of underage girl, cops say
Lester D. Pettaway, 22, of Southampton, was arrested Wednesday, July 23, 2014, and charged with second-degree rape and endangering the welfare of a child after a hospital reported the sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl, police said. Credit: Southampton Village Police
A 22-year-old Southampton man faces rape and endangerment charges after a hospital reported the sexual assault of an underage girl, police said.
Lester D. Pettaway was charged with second-degree rape and endangering the welfare of a child after his arrest Wednesday at 10:06 a.m. -- little more than seven hours after the case was reported to Southampton Village Police, authorities said.
Pettaway was arraigned in Southampton Village Justice Court on Thursday and ordered remanded to Suffolk County Jail in lieu of $500,000 cash bail or bond.
Court records indicate he already was awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to third-degree robbery in an unrelated case that included an assault and weapons charge.
Police said that investigators received a phone call from Southampton Hospital at 2:41 a.m. Wednesday, reporting the sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl. The girl's identity was not released because she is a minor and because she is the victim of an alleged sexual assault.
Police said Pettaway "allegedly engaged in a sexual relation[ship]" with the girl, but did not provide a time frame for that relationship.
The age of consent in New York is 17 years old.
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