Sexual Abuse of a Minor

A 32-year-old Northwest Woods man was arrested last week on a felony charge of sexually abusing an East Hampton High School student under the age of 17.

Joffre Apolo-Enriquez was said by East Hampton Town police to have groped the girl while she was asleep in her bed on the morning of May 2. The teen’s parents were out of the house at the time.

Mr. Apolo-Enriquez, who was arrested at his home on May 6 shortly after midnight, was additionally charged with endangering the welfare of a minor, a misdemeanor. Bail was set at $20,000 later that morning, which was posted. East Hampton Town Justice Steven Tekulsky issued the girl a stay-away order of protection against the man.

The teen told police the incident occurred between 10 and 11 in the morning. It was a Saturday. She said she was asleep in her room with the door closed, and was awakened by Mr. Apolo-Enriquez fondling her. She had clothing on at the time, she said. “The only reason that he stopped is because he saw my mom’s car pull into the driveway,” she told police.

She said it was not the first time he had touched her inappropriately. He was constantly texting her, she said, in an attempt to learn when her parents were out of the house. About three months earlier, she told detectives, Mr. Apolo-Enriquez, who knows her parents, was alone with her when he tried to kiss her and pull off her sweatpants. When she rebuffed his efforts, she said, he warned her not to tell anyone what had happened, or they would both be in trouble. “I never told anyone because I was scared,” she said.

That changed after the May 2 incident. “I couldn’t hold it in anymore,” the teen said. She confided in East Hampton High School authorities, who called the police.

Mr. Apolo-Enriquez’s lawyer, Sandra Melendez, declined to comment on the case. “The investigation is in the beginning stages,” she said Tuesday. “It is a very sensitive situation.”

The identity of the teen, who is both a minor and the alleged victim of a sex crime, was not released, in accordance with New York State law.