An Elmira man has been sentenced to 18 years to life in state prison after pleading guilty to two counts of predatory sexual assault against a child in a case involving years of abuse of two children.
Kenneth G. Morales, 30, was sentenced Sept. 10 by Schuyler County Court Judge Matthew C. Hayden. Morales pleaded guilty July 16 to two Class A-II felony counts, with the two prison terms ordered to run concurrently.
Morales will also be required to register as a sex offender under New York’s Sex Offender Registration Act, and orders of protection were issued for the victims.
Schuyler County District Attorney Jeremy Hourihan said the abuse began when the children were about 6 and 7 years old and continued for approximately seven years. The conduct occurred in both Schuyler and Chemung counties.
Prosecutors said Morales sexually abused the children repeatedly and documented the abuse by taking hundreds of pornographic photographs.
At sentencing, Hourihan argued for the maximum sentence permitted under the plea agreement, saying Morales had groomed the children from a young age by offering access to video games and cell phones in exchange for sexual acts.
Hourihan also told the court that some of the abuse occurred while other people were present in the home.
“This monster stole the childhood from these children,” Hourihan said during his sentencing argument, adding that Morales had “forfeited the privilege of living freely in this community.”
Hourihan argued that imposing a life sentence would reinforce to the victims that what happened to them mattered and that they weren’t responsible for the abuse. He also said the sentence would help ensure Morales could not victimize another child.
Hayden said during sentencing that prison could not adequately address what the children had endured.
“This is one of those cases that prison does not adequately address the horror these children had to deal with,” Hayden said, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
Hayden also said he would not offer Morales mercy, saying his “evil acts are a life sentence to these children.”
The investigation was conducted by New York State Police and the Elmira Police Department Detective Bureau.
The case was prosecuted by Hourihan.
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