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Robert Weis being led to his arraignment by Southampton Town Police in April. PRESS FILE
A Hampton Bays resident accused of sexually abusing a minor multiple times over the course of several years pleaded guilty in Suffolk County District Court in Riverside last week to eight felony charges against him.
On December 9, Robert Weis, 55, who worked as a Suffolk County Correction officer, pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree course of sexual conduct against a child, two counts of first-degree sodomy, third-degree criminal possession of stolen property, and three counts of criminal possession of a firearm.
The charges were brought against him on April 4 after an investigation into allegations against Mr. Weis was conducted by the Southampton Town Police Detectives Division and Suffolk County District Attorney Timothy Sini’s team.
A 29-year-old man reported to police in March that he had been abused by Mr. Weis several times between the ages of 7 and 17 years old.
When Mr. Weis was arrested, he was driving to school an 11-year-old boy — described by police as a friend of the family whom Mr. Weis was watching — though they did not describe the boy as a victim of abuse.
In addition to the sexual abuse charges, a search of Mr. Weis’s home revealed he was in possession of three unregistered handguns, 32 long rifles and 50,000 rounds of ammunition.
He was also in possession of bulletproof vests, handcuffs and EMT equipment, which he was accused of stealing from the Suffolk County Correctional Facility, where he worked.
DVDs, Mr. Sini said at the time, were recovered from Mr. Weis’s home, which possibly contained child pornography. One DVD was titled “Age Is Just a Number,” Mr. Sini said.
Mr. Weis was also charged in 2016 with sexually abusing a child in South Carolina, though those charges are still pending.
As a result of the South Carolina charges, the correctional facility he worked at for 24 years revoked his ability to carry a gun. He was then placed on restricted duty and assigned to a quartermaster position, where he was not permitted to carry a gun.
During his arraignment in April, Southampton Town Justice Barbara Wilson set Mr. Weis’s bail at $1 million cash, or $3 million bond, per Suffolk County Assistant District Attorney Laurie Moroff’s request, because he was considered to be a flight risk — she said Mr. Weis was in the process of packing to move to Texas.
He did not post bail and has been incarcerated since the arraignment.
Mr. Weis was in court on Thursday, December 19, with his attorney James O’Shea of the Southampton Village-based law firm O’Shea Marcincuk and Bruyn LLP to discuss sentencing restrictions. A parole officer attended the hearing and was expected to meet with Mr. Weis afterward.
Acknowledging the parole officer’s presence, Justice Mark D. Cohen said being able to meet with Mr. Weis in Riverside, “saves a trip to Westchester,” where the defendant has been held.
Mr. O’Shea and the district attorney’s office did not immediately respond to requests seeking the maximum amount of time Mr. Weis could be sentenced to prison.
He is tentatively scheduled to be sentenced by Mr. Cohen in the Riverside court on January 8. On Wednesday, December 18, Ms. Moroff said there is a chance that could change and Mr. Weiss would be sentenced at a later date.
Greg Wehner on Dec 19, 2019