An ex-Suffolk County correction officer has admitted to sexually abusing a child over a nine-year span, as well as theft and weapons charges.
Robert Weis pleaded guilty Monday at Suffolk County court to felony counts of sexual conduct against a child, criminal sex act, criminal possession of a firearm, and criminal possession of stolen property.
“This is an individual who routinely abused his position of power, in both his official capacity as a correction officer and as an adult who was an authority figure for children,” Suffolk County District Attorney Timothy Sini has said.
Prosecutors said the investigation into the 55-year-old Hampton Bays man began after a man reported to the Southampton Town Police Department that Weis had sexually abused the victim from from the ages of seven to 16.
Weis, who is the adoptive parent of five males and has been a foster parent for approximately 15 years, has been employed as a Suffolk County correction officer since 1995. He has been jailed since his arrested in April, when bail was set at $5 million cash or $15 million bond. He has since been terminated by the sheriff’s office.
When authorities executed a search warrant at his home, they said they seized three illegal handguns, 32 rifles, and more than 50,000 rounds of ammunition. Police also said investigators recovered stolen property belonging to the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office, including bulletproof vests and EMT equipment.
Weis was placed on modified duty working as a quartermaster for the Sheriff’s Office and had access to the office’s uniforms, gear, and other official property after he was arrested in South Carolina in 2016 for allegedly sexually abusing a minor.
He faces up to 25 years in prison when is is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 8.
