An NYPD officer was convicted Wednesday on charges he sexually abused a child during repeated stays at her family’s home, the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office announced.
Jacob Sabbagh, 34, of Brooklyn, was accused of molesting the victim for nearly three years, starting when she was just 10 years old.
A Brooklyn Supreme Court jury convicted him of second-degree course of sexual conduct against a child.
According to witness testimony, Sabbagh was a family friend of the victim who would sleep over at her home about one night a month, according to the district attorney’s office. On each of those visits from June 2005 to March 2008, Sabbagh groped and fondled the victim, and on one occasion forced her to reciprocate.
He then joined the NYPD in 2009, after he stopped abusing the girl.
The family moved out of the country, but the girl later told her mother about the abuse, who reported it to authorities.
In controlled telephone conversations between the victim and the defendant, prosecutors said Sabbagh was heard admitting to the sexual abuse and apologizing for his actions, according to evidence presented at trial.
“This is a disturbing case where a young child was sexually abused and repeatedly violated by a family friend—now a police officer—whom she should have been able to trust,” Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson said in a statement. “The victim had the courage to speak out against the abuser and we will now see that he is punished.”
Sabbagh is scheduled to return to court for his sentencing on Sept. 7. He faces up to seven years in prison.
