An East Hampton man was charged late last week with multiple counts of rape in what police say was child abuse involving a girl who was 10 years old when it began.
Elias Eleazar Corado DeLeon, 21, is being held on $750,000 bail or $1 million bond after his arraignment on Friday morning. He faces six felony charges.
In addition to three counts of first-degree rape, he is charged with “course of sexual conduct” against a child, first-degree attempted rape, and rape in the second degree, all felonies, as well as the misdemeanor offense of endangering the welfare of a child.
Town police say the abuse began in 2022; the girl is now 14. Mr. Corado DeLeon described the encounters as consensual. He is accused of holding her down on several occasions.
Police arrested the Guatemalan national last Thursday night after an investigation. First-degree rape, the most serious of the charges, is characterized as a violent felony offense and carries a maximum 25-year sentence. At a minimum, a five-year sentence is mandatory for each first-degree rape charge upon conviction.
The office of the county district attorney had until yesterday to present a grand jury indictment against the accused man and was expected to have done so. Police are asking anyone who believes they may be a victim of Mr. Corado DeLeon to contact the department at 631-537-7575.