Teen Pleads Guilty To Rape

Bryan Siranaula, an 18-year-old who graduated from East Hampton High School and served as a former East Hampton Village traffic control officer, pleaded guilty to the charge of rape in the first degree September 7 in the Riverside courtroom of Justice Barbara Kahn, according to online court records. He also pleaded guilty to two other felony charges stemming from the attack, along with four misdemeanor crimes.

One felony charge of rape, based on the allegation that Siranaula attacked the victim a second time after allowing her to give a seven-year-old child she had left in her car a cell phone to watch videos with, was dismissed by the court.

Siranaula had lured his victim, with whom he was acquainted, to the Springs School parking lot on Sunday, February 4, through a text message, posing as someone else, according to the file for the case in East Hampton Town Justice Court. He then “pulled the female victim out of her vehicle, picked her up off the ground, and carried her” to his vehicle, where the rape occurred, said Carla Egan, the assistant district attorney who handled the initial arraignment in East Hampton on February 5. All of this occurred, Egan told the court, as the seven-year-old child remained in the victim’s car. One of the misdemeanor charges Siranaula pleaded guilty to was endangering the welfare of a child.

The New York State Office of Probation is conducting a pre-sentencing investigation of Siranaula, who is currently free on $50,000 bail. The investigation will likely include interviews with the victim. As part of his bail terms, Siranaula has essentially been under house arrest, with the court monitoring his movements. He is scheduled to be sentenced by Justice Kahn November 8. He posted bail within a couple of days of being arraigned on the felony charges February 16.

New York State law covering sentencing for rape in the first degree demands a five-to-25 year period of incarceration. However, according to District Attorney Tim Sini’s office, Justice Kahn may allow Siranaula to pass through a thin legal corridor, which will leave his record forever sealed. This would happen under the state’s youthful offender sentencing guidelines, which apply to those who were between 16 and 18 at the time of the crime.

Siranaula’s attorney, Daniel Rodgers, who declined to comment, will likely ask for a sealed courtroom if Justice Kahn finds mitigating circumstances leading up to the crimes Siranaula has admitted to. At that point, his record would be sealed from the public. Instead of five-to-25 years in prison, he would be sentenced to a maximum term of four years. He would also likely be sentenced to probation. He would not, however, be required to register as a sex offender.

If Justice Kahn finds the mitigating factors to justify the youthful offender status being bestowed on the teenager, Siranaula would not have a criminal record.

t.e@indyeastend.com