Life along New York Avenue in Huntington carried on much the way it always does, even after prosecutors announced the indictment of a 59-year-old Salvadoran national accused of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl in an alley off the busy commercial strip.
Antonio Melendez Reyes was indicted on charges including first-degree rape, sexual abuse and endangering the welfare of a child after Suffolk District Attorney Raymond Tierney said he allegedly approached the girl as she walked home, repeatedly asked for her phone number, then forced her into an alley and assaulted her.
“The allegations in this case are deeply disturbing,” Tierney said. “A 16-year-old girl should be able to walk safely without being targeted, pursued, and brutally assaulted.”
Outside a store next to the alley, shoppers came and went. People walked down the street. Businesses welcomed customers. Residents said the crime was horrifying, but not a reflection of the larger community.
“If you commit a crime like this, you should go to jail. People come here to make a better life for themselves, but if that’s what’s inside of you, then you should be removed from society.”
Huntington resident Jorge Quintana said the alleged rapist was not someone he recognized.
“I’ve lived here for almost 30 years and I have never seen this man. He’s not from around here,” Quintana said. “He should be punished for what he did and then deported. The members of this community are good, hardworking people. We don’t want people like him around.”
State Sen. Mario Mattera, who represents the area, said the crime itself is what must remain the focus. “There is no excuse for anybody being raped,” Mattera said. “It is a terrible, terrible crime. If that person is convicted, that person needs to be in jail.”
Mattera said ICE should be involved when a defendant is in the country illegally, but said the criminal case must come first. “They need to be detained. They need to be tried, and if they’re convicted, they need to go to jail.”
Reyes was ordered held on $500,000 cash, $1 million bond or $5 million partially secured bond. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has lodged a detainer to take custody of him after the Suffolk prosecution. He is due back in court July 21 and faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted.