SULLIVAN COUNTY MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO PREDATORY SEXUAL ASSAULT OF A CHILD AND RAPE

NEW CITY, N.Y. – Rockland County District Attorney Thomas E. Walsh II announced today that Joel Deutsch, 34, of Sullivan County, New York, pleaded guilty to the entire indictment on May 21, 2026, charging him with one count of Predatory Sexual Assault of a Child, one count of Course of Sexual Conduct Against a Child in the First Degree, and one count of Rape in the Second Degree, in Rockland County court before the Honorable Kevin F. Russo.

The following is as alleged in documents filed and statements made in court:

Between 2017 and 2024, the defendant sexually abused a female child between the ages of 6 to 14 in the Village of Wesley Hills. The defendant subjected her to physical touching, vaginal intercourse, and oral sexual contact. He was arrested at approximately 11:58 a.m. on July 15, 2025.

The People advocated for the maximum sentence of 25 years to life in state prison. The Hon. Kevin F. Russo promised the defendant the minimum sentence 10 years to life in state prison with respect to the top count of the indictment charging Predatory Sexual Assault of a Child. The sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 26, 2026, and the defendant will be required to register as a sex offender after release from prison.

“My Office strongly objected the sentence imposed yesterday as it did not reflect the gravity of the defendant’s actions,” said District Attorney Walsh. “The rapes and sexual abuse that the victim was subjected to was persistent and went on for several years, and we believed that the facts of this case fully justified the maximum penalty.”

The investigation was conducted by the New York State Police Sullivan County Child Abuse Unit.

The case was prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Kaitlin DeLuca.

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