EXETER – A local man accused of sexually assaulting a three-year-old girl and a five-year-old boy has told police he is “sorry for everything that happened.”
Michael Long, 33, of Rochester, was indicted last month by a Rockingham County grand jury on three counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault and two counts of criminal sexual assault.
The alleged attacks took place between January 2018 and December 2019 in Exeter.
An indictment is not an indication of guilt, it only means that the grand jury found sufficient evidence to warrant a trial. Long is currently scheduled to appear in court on December 2, with a final pre-trial hearing on November 21.
Long was arrested by Exeter police in October 2023.
According to a police statement, the investigation into Long began in 2019 after police received a DCYF report from a child protective services worker. The report revealed that a 5-year-old boy stated that he and a 3-year-old girl had been sexually abused by Long.
However, the investigation stalled when the children and their mother failed to attend an interview at the Child Advocacy Center.
The investigation was revived after Exeter police were contacted by Rochester police on August 31, 2023. Police provided a report containing screenshots from Facebook Messager in which Long admitted to sexually abusing the children to the children’s mother.
“I was wrong. Very, very wrong,” Long stated in a message allegedly sent to the mother. “I’ve been living with that ever since. I was in a very lonely phase at the time, and I honestly don’t even think my brain was functioning at that point because I would never intentionally hurt them.”
Long then reportedly wrote, “You promised me nothing would happen to me if I was honest with you. Can you do that again.”
The two children were later interviewed separately at the Child Advocacy Center, according to a police statement. One told the interviewer that Long “is a bad man who has done bad things,” while the other said Long “made him do some inappropriate things.” Both made disclosures of sexual abuse with graphic details detailed in the police affidavit.
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Long admits to sexually abusing children
Following the interviews with the Child Advocacy Center, police obtained permission from Assistant Attorney General Joshua Speicher to conduct a one-sided telephone conversation (a recorded conversation in which consent is given by the calling party) between the children’s mother and Long.
According to the police statement, Long stated during the call: “I 110 percent regret the things that happened. And I don’t like the things that happened. And I’m ashamed. And I have to live with myself, no matter how also.” What.”
Long then went into detail about what happened before saying, “I’m not okay with it, but I’m okay with it at the same time. I’m okay with never seeing them alone again.”
He later said, “I made a terrible, terrible mistake that I can never take back, and I’ll be damned if I don’t spend the rest of my life trying to fix it.” No matter what happens.’
As part of the investigation, police interviewed the mother of the two children on September 20, 2023, and then interviewed Long at the police station on October 5, 2023.
Long admitted to the assaults during an interview with Exeter police Detective John Suglia, according to the police statement.
“Long also explained that he has made many mistakes in his life, and this is one he would never do, and he did,” Suglia said in the police statement. “If he had to tell (the victims) anything, it would be that he is very sorry for what happened, and that they didn’t deserve it.”
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The trial has long been scheduled for December
Long is currently scheduled to appear in court on December 2, with a final pre-trial hearing on November 21.
He is represented by public defender Deanna Campbell, who could not immediately be reached for comment.
If convicted of aggravated criminal sexual assault, Long faces up to 20 years in prison on each charge. For the two counts of criminal assault, Long faces a maximum sentence of seven years in prison and a $4,000 fine.
If you need help
As a public service, Seacoast Media Group provides the following information when reporting on cases of alleged sexual assault:
Haven is a violence prevention and support service for men, women and children affected by domestic and sexual violence. Haven’s 24-hour hotline is 1-603-994-SAFE (7233). This is a confidential crisis support line in the Seacoast and Rochester region, staffed by trained attorneys. Information: havennh.org
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: A Rochester man is on trial for allegedly sexually abusing two children
