Police arrested and charged an El Salvadoran national with several felonies who police believe to have connections to the violent MS-13 gang after he allegedly broke into a Southampton, New York house and sexually assaulted a sleeping 19-year-old woman, The New York Post reported.
According to reports, Southampton Town Justice Barbara Wilson set bail at $2 million cash and $4 million bond after 20 year-old Marvin Saul Siciliano-Nunez was charged with first degree burglary, second degree burglary, first degree sexual abuse, and first degree criminal sex act. Siciliano-Nunez was also charged with criminal obstruction of breathing or blood circulation, a misdemeanor.
“I could never pay that amount of money,” the The New York Post reported Siciliano-Nunez saying. “I’d rather go to jail.”
The incident occurred in one of the wealthiest areas of the United States where beachside mansions line the neighborhoods and the well-off regularly spend their summers.
During the arraignment Saturday, Southampton Patch reported, Assistant District Attorney Rob Archer said that Siciliano-Nunez engaged in the home break in and sexual assault Friday morning after he gained entry into the main residence by going through the residence’s pool house.
He entered the bedroom where the woman was sleeping and “forced a resident into unwanted sexual contact,” Archer said.
A complaint said that Siciliano-Nunez threatened to “strike the victim with what appeared to be a wooden baseball bat if she did not perform oral sex with him.”
The Post reported the woman managed to escape after the assault and ran outside naked looking for help as Siciliano-Nunez chased her with a baseball bat until police were contacted and found the suspect wandering around the neighborhood.
Police say the suspect worked for eight months as a housepainter with a local contracting company called Diego’s Painting
“There were a ton of cops all over,” said one witness, who noted she was not shocked the perpetrator is a suspected gang member.
The witness added, “You can’t tell who they are because they’re friends of the trade people who work here.”
Southampton Patch reported Siciliano-Nunez confirmed he was from El Salvador, not a U.S. citizen, and has “limited ties to the community.
His attorney, Carl Irace, said that Siciliano-Nunez lived in Hampton Bays for two years and attended Hampton Bays High School.
The suspect attempted to apply for citizenship, but a prior DWI conviction complicated immigration matters for him, Irace said. His current immigration status is unknown. The legal aid department will handle his case.
According to local law enforcement, Siciliano-Nunez also stole jewelry, a cellphone, and a skateboard from the pool house.
Archer noted that charges are still pending against Siciliano-Nunez for a “violent felony” that happened in May at a nearby Hampton Bay bar. Local reports described the May assault allegedly involving the suspect as a “felony gang assault.”
Irace said Siciliano-Nunez was released on his own recognizance, which he said “speaks to the merit and gravity of that case,” and is “unlikely to result in incarceration.”