Coram man charged with rape of girl, 14, cops say
A 33-year-old man was charged with rape after he sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl inside an apartment in Coram on Wednesday, police said.
Ricardo Gurdon of Jefferson Court, Coram, was arrested by Sixth Squad detectives following an investigation after the victim reported the assault, Suffolk County police said.
Police said Gurdon had "no prior relationship" with the victim.
The victim was walking through an apartment complex on Country Club Drive, on her way to meet friends at a laundromat, when she was approached by Gurdon outside an apartment, police said.
The method of how Gurdon got the victim into the apartment was under investigation, but it was against her will, police said. The assault took place around noon, they said.
Gurdon had been staying with a friend at the complex, police said.
The victim was evaluated at Stony Brook University Hospital. Following an investigation, Gurdon was arrested at another apartment complex where he had lived with his wife until recently, police said.
Gurdon was charged with first-degree rape and first-degree criminal sex act and was scheduled for arraignment Thursday in First District Court in Central Islip. Defense attorney information was not available in a check of online court records.
John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”
