NYPD officer convicted of sexually abusing young girl in Brooklyn

NEW YORK (WABC) -- An NYPD officer has been convicted for the repeated abuse of a young girl in Brooklyn for nearly three years, starting when she was 10, authorities said Wednesday.

"This is a disturbing case where a young child was sexually abused and repeatedly violated by a family friend-now a police officer-whom she should have been able to trust," said Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson. "The victim had the courage to speak out against the abuser and we will now see that he is punished."

Jacob Sabbagh, 34, of Midwood, Brooklyn, was convicted of second-degree course of sexual conduct against a child.

He faces up to seven years in prison when sentenced in September.

Prosecutors say Sabbagh, who joined the police force in 2009, was a family friend of the victim and would sleep over at her Flatbush home approximately every month.

The investigation revealed that on each of these visits, between June 2005 and March 2008, he repeatedly groped and fondled the victim and on occasion forced her to reciprocate.

The abuse began when the victim was 10 and ended when she turned 13, said Thompson.

The victim and her family moved out of the country and, when she was 16, he told her mother about the past abuse.

The case was reported to authorities in the country where they lived and later referred to the District Attorney's Victim Services Unit.

In controlled telephone conversations between the victim and the defendant, prosecutors said Sabbagh was heard admitting to the sexual abuse and apologizing for his actions, according to evidence presented at trial.