NEW ROCHELLE, NY (May 1, 2026) — A New Rochelle man was sentenced Thursday to 9 to 19 years in state prison for sexually abusing a 15-year-old boy and later moving the teen’s body from his home and leaving it on a sidewalk.
Hugo Perez-Gabriel, 33, was sentenced April 30 by Westchester County Court Judge Robert Prisco after pleading guilty in March to use of a child less than 17 years of age in a sexual performance, a class C felony; criminal sexual act in the third degree, a class E felony; and tampering with physical evidence, a class E felony.
Prisco sentenced Perez-Gabriel to 4 to 12 years for making a video of the victim posing naked; four years for performing a sex act on the boy; and 1 to 3 years for moving the body, with all terms running consecutively. He will also serve 10 years of post-release supervision and must register as a sex offender.
The victim, Jonson Temaj, 15, was a student at New Rochelle High School who was living with his uncle while his parents remained in Guatemala. His body was discovered on a sidewalk near Perez-Gabriel’s Washington Avenue home on Feb. 6, 2025. The Westchester County Medical Examiner determined the cause of death was acute ethanol intoxication, ruled an accident. Perez-Gabriel was not implicated in Temaj’s death.
According to Westchester County District Attorney Susan Cacace, Perez-Gabriel sexually abused Temaj on Aug. 29, 2024, induced him to engage in a sexual performance on video on Feb. 3, 2025, and then, along with a 16-year-old boy, dragged and disposed of the body in New Rochelle on Feb. 6, 2025.
“The heinous crimes committed by this defendant against a 15-year-old boy can hardly be put into words,” Cacace said. “It is unfathomable what the victim was made to suffer through before his premature death. The defendant’s actions toward him were nothing short of merciless.”
At sentencing, Assistant District Attorney Laura Forbes read an English translation of a letter written in Spanish by Temaj’s uncle on behalf of the family.
The investigation was conducted by the New Rochelle Police Department and the District Attorney’s High-Tech Unit. The case was prosecuted by Child Sexual Abuse Material Bureau Chief Laura Forbes and Senior Assistant District Attorney Mollie O’Rourke.
This article was prepared with the assistance of AI tools under the direction and editing of Robert Cox.
Have information about this story? Email robertcox@talkofthesound (preferred) or contact via WhatsApp: +353 089 972 0669.
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