Queens Man Gets 12 Years for Sexually Abusing Stepdaughter in Manhasset Parking Lot

Gopaul also faces 51 felony charges in Queens for earlier abuse

MINEOLA, NY – Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice announced today that Harold Gopaul has been sentenced to 12 years in prison by a Nassau County judge after being convicted by a jury of sexually abusing his now 17-year-old stepdaughter in the spring of 2008.

Gopaul, 51, of Bellerose, Queens, was convicted on May 15 of 14 counts of Sexual Abuse in the First Degree. He will be forced to register as a sex offender upon his release.

He is also currently under indictment for 51 felonies in Queens for sexually abusing the girl when she was 14. The highest charge he faces in Queens, Criminal Sexual Act in the First Degree, carries a possible sentence of up to 25 years in prison. Gopaul was sentenced by Nassau County Judge James McCormack.

Rice said that between May 1, 2008 and June 20, 2008, Gopaul would pick his stepdaughter up at school in Queens, drive her to the parking lot of the pest extermination business he owned in Manhasset, and molest the girl in his work van.

“Words cannot describe neither the horrors this man committed, nor the bravery of his victim for coming forward,” Rice said. “Her testimony ensured that this defendant will pay dearly for his crimes. I only hope his incarceration brings her some semblance of peace.”

Assistant District Attorney Jamie Johnson of the DA’s Special Victims Bureau is handling the case for the District Attorney’s Office. The defendant is represented by Donald R. Schecter, Esq.

As to the Queens charges, the charges are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.