Crimes Nearby: A Mother Faces Her Child's Abuser

The following information was supplied by East End police departments. A criminal charge is only an accusation, and does not indicate convictions.

Recent arrests and reported crimes from elsewhere on the East End:

Westhampton-Hampton Bays

• Joshua McDermott, 23, of Flanders, was arrested in Hampton Bays on April 28 along with Kenneth Gordon, 36, of Central Islip and Justin Benkov, 26, ofFlanders. All were charged with one count each of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree, a misdemeanor. Cops said the three men were spotted in a vehicle on West Montauk Highway at 12:34 a.m. and were found to be in possession of marijuana and open containers of alcoholic beverages. Benkov was additionally charged with criminal possession of a weapon, second degree, a C felony, after police found an illegal handgun in the car.

• Jennifer Gaffney, 37, of Riverhead, was charged with DWI, a misdemeanor, in Flanders April 25. Police said they observed Gaffney speeding on Flanders Road at 3:21 a.m. After she was stopped, police said the driver failed field sobriety tests including a positive breath test for alcohol. Gaffney was also charged with one count of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree, a misdemeanor, after a quantity of marijuana and a crack pipe with residue was found.

Southampton

• On April 24, an East Hampton woman reported that $1,200 was stolen from her after she sent a first-month house rental payment by Western Union to an address in England. The victim, said police, was under the impression that the payment was for a rental in Southampton. When she showed up at the house, someone was already living on the property. The person at the house told police that two other would-be renters have already fallen prey to the same scam so far.

• Jesse Smith, 26, of Southampton was charged with DWI, a misdemeanor, on April 28 in Noyac at English Garden Lane and Noyac Road. Police said Smith's car hit a tree and he was found to be intoxicated at the scene. Smith was additionally charged with unsafely moving from a lane, a traffic violation.

• Fermin Morastitla, 40, of Southampton, was arrested April 28 on Sebonac Inlet Road in Tuckahoe and charged with aggravated DWI, a misdemeanor. Police reported that at 10:14 p.m., Morastitla was observed drinking a container of beer in a vehicle while the engine was running. She was administered field sobriety tests, which she failed, police said. Additionally, Morastitla was charged with a violation of the open container law.

East Hampton

A mother faced her on Wednesday.

The mother, whose identity Patch has withheld to help protect the victim's identity, said Henry P. Lopez Gonzalez of East Hampton had betrayed the three victims' trust.

Speaking before Judge Barbara Kahn, she cried, but her voice was strong and clear when she said her daughter "was a joyful little girl" who has turned introverted and shy and has developed night terrors since she was sexually abused.

An East Hampton man as he made a turn while driving drunk with a suspended license on Saturday morning, according to . Juan C. Valasquez was driving a 1997 Ford eastbound on Montauk Highway when he tried to make a right turn onto Skimphampton Road in East Hampton sometime before 5 a.m. The truck rolled onto the driver-side, then righted itself, police said.
Valasquez, who is 28, was taken by helicopter to Stony Brook University Medical Center for a head injury.