Police

ADA: West Hempstead man had two sexual encounters with boy

DA COURTESY PHOTO | DAVID BOUTIN

Accused of engaging in sex acts with a 13-year-old boy, David Boutin of West Hempstead arrived at county court Friday dressed in a gray suit, with his mother by his side, but he left in handcuffs after Judge Barbara Kahn rejected his request for lower bail.

He did not speak in court.

Mr. Boutin, 42, is alleged to have abused the teen on two occasions in his car in the Shoreham/Wading River area earlier this year. He was arrested on Aug. 17 and pleaded not guilty to the charges Friday and was ordered jailed in lieu of $25,000 cash bail or $100,000 bond.

Mr. Boutin is a financial planner who lost his job after his arrest.

His mother declined to comment after the court proceeding.

Assistant District Attorney John Cortes said Mr. Boutin had two sexual encounters with the 13-year-old boy, and that the two met on Craigslist.

Both times, they met  in a secluded location off a LIPA access road north of Route 25A in the Shoreham/Wading River area and engaged in oral sex and another act in the backseat of Mr. Boutin’s car, according to Mr. Cortes.

On April 17, a Suffolk County police officer who was searching for a stolen dirt bike came upon Mr. Boutin and the teen in the back of Mr. Boutin’s blue 2010 Toyota Corolla parked off the road, Mr. Cortes said.

Mr. Boutin was arrested and charged with two counts of second-degree criminal sexual act, which used to be called sodomy.

He also exchanged sexually explicit emails with the victim, Mr. Cortes said. The boy’s identity was concealed because of his age and the nature of the crime.

“Mr. Boutin also signed a written confession admitting that he had engaged in sexual conduct with the victim,” Mr. Cortes said afterward.

The confession was not videotaped or audiotaped, he said.

Mr. Boutin’s only previous arrest was a 1992 driving while ability impaired charge, according to Mr. Cortes.

The case went before a grand jury, which came back with an indictment that elevated the charges to three counts of second-degree criminal sexual act, which is a class D felony punishable by up to seven years in jail, as well as one count of first-degree disseminating indecent material to a minor, also a class D felony, two counts of second-degree sexual abuse, and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child.

“My client denies the allegations,” said Frank Tinari, Mr. Boutin’s attorney. “He’s married, he has a house in West Hempstead and he’s been employed as a financial planner.”

But Mr. Tinari said Mr. Boutin lost his job as a financial planner following his arrest, and has been seeking counseling with his wife.

Mr. Boutin did not testify before the grand jury, his attorney said.

He tried to get Judge Kahn to lower his client’s bond to $10,000, an amount he previously posted.

“The people have a very serious case,” Judge Kahn said in rejecting the request for lower bail.

Mr. Boutin is due back in court on Oct. 17.

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