MAN CHARGED WITH SEXUALLY ABUSING GIRL, 12

Clifford Lavon Howard, a 19 year old Freeport man, was arraigned yesterday on charges that he sexually abused a 12 year old girl.  Howard, of 25 Buffalo Avenue, was arraigned on charges of second degree sodomy and second degree sexual abuse.  He went to the girls home when she was alone on October 1 and, during the course of the evening, engaged in sexual activity with her.  She later told her mother, who reported the incident to police.  His bail was set at $4,000 bond or $2,000 cash.  

Second degree sodomy is a class D felony in which the person committing the crime is 18 or older and engages in deviate sexual intercourse with another person less than 14 years old.  It carries a sentence of up to 7 years in prison upon conviction.  Second degree sexual abuse is a class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in prison.

(Freeport, New York)