A Monsey man was sentenced to 14 years in state prison Wednesday after admitting to a sexual relationship with a young girl, Rockland County District Attorney Thomas Zugibe said.
Eliyahu Zarifa, 46, of 252 Kearsing Parkway had sex with the girl over a six-year period, starting when she was 10, Zugibe said. Now 17, the girl was said to have known Zarifa before the abuse.
Zugibe said Zarifa fled to Israel about the same time the victim came forward with her accusations.
He returned to the United States a short time later and was arrested .
“The courage and poise displayed by the victim when she first came forward and during sentencing was undeniable,” Zugibe said. “The lengthy sentence meted out by the court is more than warranted.”
In August, Zarifa pleaded guilty to first-degree course of sexual conduct against a child, a felony, in Rockland County Court in New City, Zugibe said.
Upon his release from prison, Zarifa will serve 10 years’ probation and will have to register with New York state as a sex offender. Whether he will be listed as a Level 1, Level 2 or Level 3 offender has not been determined.
In June, Zarifa was charged with third-degree grand larceny, a felony. He was accused of stealing $4,000 in Medicaid benefits between March 2011 and February 2012. Zugibe did not have any information Wednesday on the status of that case.
Zarifa is the latest of several Monsey men to plead guilty to sex crimes against children.
On Jan. 28, Dovid Kohn, 60, admitted to having oral sex with a 12-year-old girl. Kohn, an Israeli illegally living in the United States, pleaded guilty to first-degree course of sexual conduct against a child and faces sentencing May 7. He is likely to be deported upon his release from prison, officials have said.
On Jan. 18, Moishe Turner, 58, of 5 Dana Road admitted to sodomizing a 14-year-old boy seven times in July 2011.
A judge previously told Turner he would receive 10 years’ probation for his crime in exchange for his plea, which spared the victim from having to testify in court. Turner is to be sentenced next month.
BY - JAMES OROURKE - Lohud
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