Rosendale man sentenced to 5 years in prison for rape, DA’s office says
A Rosendale man who was allegedly found naked in bed with a child will serve five years in state prison after pleading guilty to rape in a pre-indictment agreement, the Ulster County District Attorney’s Office said Wednesday.
Danny Wiebke Jr., 34, was sentenced by Judge Bryan Rounds on Tuesday, March 12, to five years in state prison for rape, a felony, and to 60 days in Ulster County Jail after pleading guilty to misdemeanor criminal contempt of a court-issued order of protection on behalf of another alleged victim.
In August of 2023, while awaiting sentencing on his criminal contempt charge,
Wiebke was allegedly found naked in bed with a 12-yearold child, the DA’s Office said. Collaborative work and investigations by state police, Kingston police and the Ulster County District Attorney’s Office resulted in these criminal charges and convictions, according to a press release.
At sentencing, special victims bureau chief Jenna Hastings told Wiebke he had stolen “the innocence of a 12-year-old child … whose life you turned upside down because you are a predator. … You are a danger to this community.” Hastings said the victim continues to suffer bullying as a result of Wiebke’s actions.
The parents of the child victim spoke at the sentencing, saying: “Our bright, beautiful child full of promise now must endure the weight of this repulsive crime. … This monster violated our family, the community and every moral standard. He is a disgrace to himself and the community at large, like a cancerous part that should be excised.”
According to the press release, Rounds also did not hold back, saying that Wiebke had written to his daughter on the day before he pleaded guilty to rape, telling her that she and her friends could groom his beard when he is released from prison, and “asking your daughter to have the Woodstock kids write you in prison. Have you no decency?”
In a statement, District Attorney
Emmanuel Nneji said he is disgusted by Wiebke and finds his “criminal arrogance to be revolting.”
Nneji asked Woodstock parents and adults “who know or are familiar with this man to report immediately to local or state police any inappropriate conduct they have observed between this man and any other child. At the very least such reliable information can be useful for his level of classification as a sex offender. It is vital to protecting kids no matter where he goes when he gets out of prison.”
The case was prosecuted by special victims bureau chief Jenna Hastings. Wiebke was represented by Clifford Owens of the Ulster County Public Defender’s Office.