MASTIC BEACH, NY — A man was sentenced Friday to 22 years to life in prison for sexually abusing two elderly women during Mastic Beach home invasions, according to Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney.
Derrick Clancy, 43, who has no last known address, pleaded guilty in April to burglary, sexual abuse, and other related charges, Tierney said.
According to the investigation and Clancy’s admissions during his guilty plea allocution, during the early morning hours on October 10, 2023, Clancy broke into a Mastic Beach home where the first woman, who was more than 70 years old, was inside alone, the DA said.
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To get inside the home, Clancy cut a hole in a window screen and climbed through the window; he then physically and sexually abused her, while repeatedly claiming he had a knife, Tierney said.
Following the abuse, the woman pressed her medical alert system button for help, and Clancy fled the home, Tierney said. She was treated at a local hospital for her injuries, the DA said.
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Clancy’s second attack occurred during the early morning hours of October 17, 2023, when a woman, also more than 70 years old, heard a noise coming from a closet inside her home, Tierney said.
When the woman looked inside the closet, she saw Clancy coming into her home through a window in the closet; he then physically and sexually abused the woman before he fled, Tierney said.
She immediately called 911 and was subsequently treated at a local hospital for her injuries, the DA said.
Clancy was arrested on October 21, 2023, following an investigation conducted by members of the
Suffolk County Police Department, the United States Marshals Service’s New York/New Jersey
Regional Fugitive Task Force, Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, and the New York State
Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, the DA said.
Upon his arrest, detectives recovered the mask and knife that Clancy had used during the first burglary, the DA said.
On April 30, Clancy pleaded guilty before Acting Supreme Court Justice Karen Wilutis to two counts of first-degree burglary, violent felonies; two counts of first-degree sexual abuse, violent felonies; two counts of second-degree assault, violent felonies; and two counts of criminal obstruction of breathing or blood circulation, misdemeanors, the DA said.
On Friday, Justice Wilutis sentenced Clancy to 22 years to life in prison, Tierney said.
He was represented by Christopher Brocato, of Central Islip.
“Derrick knows that he has an issue,” Brocato told Patch. “He knows that he has a compulsion that he can’t control. And one of the things that he said is he’s less concerned about his liberty and more concerned about getting himself better.”
He added: “He has always said to me that he did these things. He never denied it. And one of the things he said is that he needed to take responsibility, and that he knows he can’t be among the general public, because of whatever sickness or condition he has. To be honest, I’ve never heard a criminal defendant be that honest and forthcoming.”
Brocato said he believes “even Judge Wilutis was taken aback by that. Because he didn’t blame anyone but himself. He didn’t blame his childhood, or having had a hard life. He just said, ‘I am an ill person.’ He’s going to be sentenced to 22 years to life. He’ll have a lot of time to hopefully get himself sorted out. He told me, ‘I am not fit to be in the general public.’ I’ve never heard a defendant say that.”
Brocato noted that two women spoke on Friday. First, was the second victim, “who was very brave, who fought hard against him,” he said.
The second was the granddaughter of his client’s first victim, who has since died of natural causes, he said. “She was obviously very proud of her grandmother,” Brocato said.
Of his client, Brocato said: “He told me, ‘You can’t let me out.'”
“Breaking into the homes of elderly women and subjecting them to sexual abuse is utterly reprehensible,” Tierney said. “My office will continue to aggressively pursue justice for our most vulnerable citizens and ensure that those who prey on them face the full consequence of their actions.”
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