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Derrick Clancy, age 42, was formally charged in Suffolk County Court on Wednesday, Nov. 1, in connection with the alleged burglaries and assaults at two homes in Mastic Beach.
According to investigators, Clancy got into the first home early on Tuesday, Oct. 10, by cutting a hole in a window screen and crawling through.
He then physically and sexually assaulted a woman who is over 70 years old while repeatedly claiming to have a knife, prosecutors said.
Following the assault, the woman pressed her medical alert system for help as Clancy reportedly fled through the same window. She was treated for her injuries at a hospital.
A week would go by before the second attack unfolded early on Tuesday, Oct. 17, at another home in Mastic Beach.
That’s when a woman over 70 years old heard a noise coming from a closet inside her home. When she looked in the closet, she allegedly saw Clancy coming through a window.
As in the first break-in, Clancy proceeded to physically and sexually assault the victim before fleeing on foot, according to prosecutors.
The victim called 911 and was treated at a hospital.
Multiple agencies joined the search for the suspect, including Suffolk County Police, the US Marshals Service, and the New York State Department of Corrections.
Clancy was arrested Saturday, Oct. 21, on Carleton Avenue in Central Islip. Police also recovered a mask and a knife believed to have been used in the first attack.
“This defendant’s alleged unconscionable behavior of breaking into the homes of two elderly women and sexually assaulting them, is abhorrent,” said Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney.
“My office is committed to protecting our senior population here in Suffolk County from those who would seek to take advantage of or harm them.”
Clancy, who is homeless, is charged with the following:
- Two counts of burglary (felony)
- Aggravated sexual abuse (felony)
- Two counts of sexual abuse (felony)
- Two counts of assault (felony)
- Two counts of criminal obstruction of breathing or blood circulation (misdemeanors)
He was ordered held at the Suffolk County jail without bail and is due back in court on Monday, Dec. 11.
If convicted, he faces up to life in prison.
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