Former Peekskill police officer pleads guilty to sexually abusing woman
A former Peekskill police officer has admitted sexually abusing a woman while he was on duty, and threatening to arrest her if she didn't comply.
Michael Agovino, who abused the woman in 2019 and 2020, was caught when she secretly recorded one of their interactions and alerted authorities.
Agovino, 35, pleaded guilty to several charges in Westchester County Court on Thursday and will be sentenced on June 23 to seven years in prison, the Westchester County District Attorney's Office said.
Agovino, who lives in Orangetown, will then be on post-release supervision for 15 years and he will have to register as a sex offender. He and his lawyer could not immediately be reached for comment.
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“Michael Agovino disgracefully violated his oath of office and his responsibility to serve and protect the public as a police officer by repeatedly abusing his authority, and sexually abusing this woman,” District Attorney Mimi Rocah said. “The victim in this case demonstrated great courage in her attempt to hold her abuser accountable during this emotionally distressing ordeal and we hope that today’s plea helps in the healing process. I commend the Peekskill Police Department for their cooperation in this investigation and prosecution.”
The Peekskill Police Department declined to comment on Agovino's guilty plea.
The abuse began in July 2019, when Agovino contacted the woman and told her she was under investigation for a crime, according to a felony complaint filed in Peekskill City Court when he was arrested in February 2020.
Agovino met the woman at an undisclosed public location, where she denied having stolen money, according to the complaint. He was accused of ordering her into his patrol car and telling her that he had to take her home to search for the stolen money.
After searching the woman's apartment and seeing that no one else was there, Agovino told the woman she needed to strip for him to search for the money, according to the complaint, then he groped her.
Agovino was accused of returning to the woman's home a second time and threatening to arrest her if she did not take off her clothes and perform a sex act on him.
More crimes took place over the next five months. On three different occasions, Agovino, while on duty, entered the woman's home or tried to enter it, and sexually abused her one of those times, officials said.
In January 2020 the woman secretly recorded an interaction with Agovino and gave that recording to Rocah's office. Agovino was arrested on Feb. 15, 2020, and resigned from the Peekskill Police Department last year.
Agovino pleaded guilty to three counts of second-degree burglary as a sexually motivated felony, two counts of second-degree burglary, two counts of first-degree sexual abuse, attempted second-degree burglary as a sexually motivated felony, attempted second-degree burglary, first-degree stalking as a sexually motivated felony, and first-degree falsifying business records, all felonies. He also pleaded guilty to four counts of official misconduct, three counts of third-degree coercion, and two counts of forcible touching, all misdemeanors.
Michelle Lopez and Jennifer Sculco are prosecuting the case.
Matt Spillane covers breaking news throughout the Hudson Valley. Click here for his latest stories. Follow him on Twitter @MattSpillane. Check out our latest subscription offers here.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Michael Agovino, ex-Peekskill police officer, admits sexual abuse
