Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney today announced that Derrick Clancy, 42, who is currently undomiciled, was indicted for breaking into the homes of two elderly women in Mastic Beach and sexually assaulting them.
“This defendant’s alleged unconscionable behavior of breaking into the homes of two elderly women and sexually assaulting them, is abhorrent,” said District Attorney Tierney. “My office is committed to protecting our senior population here in Suffolk County from those who would seek to take advantage of or harm them. I am thankful for the Suffolk County Police Department detectives’ investigative work, and the United States Marshals Service’s New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force for locating and arresting the defendant.”
According to the investigation, during the early morning hours of October 10, 2023, the first alleged victim, a woman over 70 years old, was alone inside her Mastic Beach home when she heard a noise. Clancy allegedly broke into the woman’s home by cutting a hole in the window screen and climbing through a window. Clancy allegedly physically and sexually assaulted the victim while repeatedly claiming he had a knife.
Following the assault, the victim pressed her medical alert system button for help, and Clancy allegedly then fled the home through the same window through which he had broken in. The victim was treated at a local hospital for her injuries.
The second attack occurred during the early morning hours of October 17, 2023, when a woman over 70 years old heard a noise coming from a closet inside her home. When the victim looked in the closet, she allegedly saw Clancy coming into her home through a window in the closet. Clancy allegedly physically and sexually assaulted the victim. Clancy then fled the victim’s home, and she immediately called 911. The victim was then treated at a local hospital for her injuries.
Following an investigation by the Suffolk County Police Department (“SCPD”), members of the United States Marshals Service’s New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force including SCPD detectives, District Attorney Investigators, and investigators with the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, arrested Clancy and recovered the mask and knife that Clancy allegedly used during the first burglary.
On November 1, 2023, Clancy was arraigned on the indictment by County Court Judge, the Honorable Karen M. Wilutis, for the following charges:
- Two counts of Burglary in the First Degree, Class B violent felonies;
- One count of Aggravated Sexual Abuse in the Second Degree, a Class C violent felony;
- Two counts of Sexual Abuse in the First Degree, Class D violent felonies;
- Two counts of Assault in the Second Degree, Class D violent felonies; and
- Two counts of Criminal Obstruction of Breathing or Blood Circulation, Class A misdemeanors.
Judge Wilutis ordered Clancy remanded during the pendency of the case. Clancy is due back in court on December 11, 2023, and faces up to life in prison if convicted of the top count. He is being represented by Michael Elbert, Esq.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Tara O’Donnell of the Major Crime Bureau, with investigative assistance from Detectives Michael Langella and Erik Pedersen of the Suffolk County Police Department’s Seventh Squad.
Criminal complaints and indictments are merely accusatory instruments. Defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty. No one is above the law.