A FORMER North Babylon teacher who admitted he had a sexual relationship with a teenage student was sentenced yesterday to 15 months in the Suffolk County Jail.
Danny Cuesta, 30, of Coram pleaded guilty Nov. 1 to third-degree rape, third-degree criminal sexual act and endangering the welfare of a child.
His guilty plea came five days after Suffolk County jurors declared – after four days of deliberations – that they were hopelessly deadlocked, 11 to 1 in favor of conviction. If he had been found guilty, Cuesta, who at trial denied having a sexual relationship with the victim, faced a maximum sentence of four years in prison.
Cuesta, a former Spanish teacher at North Babylon High School, was accused of luring the girl into a year-long sexual relationship beginning when she was just 15.
During the trial, prosecutors presented receipts showing that Cuesta took the victim, who is now 19, to Long Island motels, including the Sayville Motor Lodge.
Cuesta, who pretended when he met the girl’s parents to be a mentor tutoring her, also placed more than 1,000 phone calls to her house.
The girl’s 47-year-old father said yesterday he was upset that his daughter’s seducer could spend as little as 10 months in jail, with time off for good behavior.
He also fumed at the one holdout juror, who after the four-week trial ended said she would have needed prosecutors to present DNA evidence before she could have voted to convict.
“I want to know how that lone juror feels knowing that she let this known predator back in circulation in 10 months,” said the father, whose daughter testified on the witness stand for four days.
“Maybe she should stop watching ‘CSI’ and get in contact with the real world, where predators walk the streets,” he added.
During Cuesta’s November plea hearing, prosecutors revealed in court that two other girls had come forward alleging the teacher had sex with them.
As part of his plea deal, Cuesta will not be prosecuted for any crimes involving the two new alleged victims.
rweir@nydailynews.com
