Man gets 40 years to life for sexually assaulting and trafficking girl in Yates County

PENN YAN, N.Y. – The man who pleaded guilty to raping and trafficking a child – at times armed with a rifle and sometimes recording the abuse – will serve 40 years to life in prison.

It happened in various locations in Yates County and the Southern Tier. Andrew Daugherty, 49, pleaded guilty in May to predatory sexual assault, predatory sexual assault against a child, sex trafficking a child, and compelling prostitution. He was sentenced on Tuesday morning.

A New York State Police investigation that started last fall found he abused the girl starting in 2017, when she was under 13.

Yates County District Attorney Todd Casella say Daugherty took a plea deal and waived his right to appeal as a part of the plea agreement.

Daugherty spent five years on probation for a 2006 conviction in Elmira for sexually abusing a five-year-old boy. He was designated a level 2 sex offender by New York State. Investigators say Daugherty did not act alone. He’s one of 18 charged in connection to the girl’s abuse.