For many years, East Hampton has defined itself as a quaint small town with low crime and a sense that serious violence happens elsewhere. However, as reports of crimes of a sexual nature have apparently increased, those cases have drawn attention — not only because of their brutality, but also because allegations of abuse strike at deeply held assumptions about safety in a place that has seen itself as insulated from such offenses.
Something else, though, may be at work, according to the East Hampton Town Police Department, which says that with the bad, there is some good.
Since January, town police have made six arrests for sexual crimes, including first-degree rape, with the majority of them having been perpetrated against children.
According to Det. Sgt. Frank Sokolowski, a town police spokesman, the numbers may seem grim at first glance but are generally in line with averages in past years. (There were five sexual offenses ending in arrests last year, but 20 altogether in 2022.) “We’re still within the normal realm,” he said, noting that in some years such crimes happen to occur in clusters.
The crimes against children, he added, are the ones that “take a piece of your soul.”
One big reason those crimes come to light, Detective Sokolowski said, is through the department’s recent focus on community outreach. In his 2025 year-end report to the town board, Chief of Police Michael Sarlo said the department had set a goal to increase outreach and awareness, and that the target was largely reached.
Detective Sokolowski, who was a gym and health teacher in local schools before moving into police work, called this approach a “sacred thing,” a “multidisciplinary” effort involving not only police “resource officers” who work in the schools and directly with children, but also teachers, counselors, and school security guards, who are employed by a private company. Many of the security guards are retired police officers.
Teachers and counselors are known as mandated reporters, people who are required by law to report suspected abuse or personal knowledge of abuse to authorities.
Child Protective Services, a state agency charged with protecting children from abuse and mistreatment, also plays a role. The agency may already be involved with a family when reports of criminal abuse come to light, and according to its numerous press releases, police often act on its information before making an arrest.
Such was the case in February, when East Hampton Town police charged Jaime Fajardo Fajardo of Hampton Bays with two felonies: second-degree sexual conduct against a child and first-degree sexual abuse. He also faces one misdemeanor charge of sexual abuse and another of endangering the welfare of a child.
Police say the man assaulted a child multiple times over the course of several years. He was indicted on the charges by a grand jury and is being held in the county jail in Riverside.
Likewise, Carlos Gutama, an East Hampton resident, was arrested in April and charged with two misdemeanor counts of second-degree sexual abuse and one of endangering the welfare of a child. Police said he abused a 13-year-old, who reported it to Child Protective Services.
In another case this year, a purported community helper, a mail carrier, became part of the problem. Earlier this month, police arrested Jenry Buestan Gutama of Moriches, who they say assaulted a 15-year-old in his postal vehicle. He was charged with first-degree rape, a felony, and endangering the welfare of a child. He is currently in the county jail awaiting possible indictment.
The release of public statements is another important factor in bringing these arrests into notice of the community, Detective Sokolowski said. “Those are not meant to scare,” he said, but rather to alert potential victims that they may safely come forward.
Victims sometimes do not know the names of their attackers, but may know where they work. The police press releases often identify the arrested man’s employer for that reason.
Reporting abuse to the authorities may be one of the most difficult decisions a person can make, said Detective Sokolowski. Fear of coming forward is common. “These are someone’s deepest, darkest secrets,” he said.
In fact, though, the victim of the immediate crime may not be the only victim; police find that many perpetrators are victims themselves, often, with a backstory to tell.
“It’s more than just, an arrest is made,” the detective said.
What happens next is often left out of the story. The Child Advocacy Center in Riverhead offers resources to victims. There are doctors, nurses, and victim advocates from the Family Service League who also get involved.
“It takes a community,” he said.
For town police, training is equally important. “Every one of my detectives is forensically trained,” Detective Sokolowski noted. According to the department’s year-end report, he himself logged 288 hours of training. The full detective division, which had eight detectives in 2025 (several have since retired) and two officers, logged a total of 824 hours of training last year.
In March, Elias Corado DeLeon, who lives in East Hampton, was charged with a total of four felonies: first-degree sexual conduct against a child, first-degree rape (three counts), First-degree attempted rape, and second-degree rape, as well a count of endangering the welfare of a child, a misdemeanor.
Police said he had abused a child starting when she was 10 until now (she is now 14), and he believed them to be in a romantic relationship. Mr. Corado DeLeon is 21. He was indicted by a grand jury and is awaiting adjudication in the county jail.
Earlier this month, police say Maurilio Cardona Trujillo of Riverhead assaulted a sleeping man in Montauk and they charged him with felony first-degree rape, a felony. And in March, Jose Humala Chabla, of East Hampton, was charged with two counts of sexual abuse, a felony, and second-degree harassment, a violation. Police said the man had sexually abused a 27-year-old woman on multiple occasions.
Detective Sokolowski ended the conversation with a warning. “We hire landscapers, pool service people . . . we invite people into our homes,” he said.
All in all, he concluded, East Hampton is a very safe community, and police here work tirelessly to keep it that way. “We live here too,” he said.
