Bay Shore Man Pleads Guilty to Repeatedly Raping 12-Year-Old Girl

Miguel Enrique Diaz, 49, a former Bay Shore School District bus driver who also drove for Uber, pleaded guilty March 17 to repeatedly raping a 12-year-old girl over the course of nearly a year, Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney announced.

Diaz admitted in court that between December 2022 and October 2023 he sexually assaulted the child in the backseat of his car and inside his Bay Shore home. He entered the plea before Acting Supreme Court Justice Karen M. Wilutis, acknowledging the conduct during his guilty plea allocution. The charge, Course of Sexual Conduct Against a Child in the First Degree, is a Class B violent felony.

During the entire period of the abuse, Diaz was simultaneously employed as a bus driver for the Bay Shore School District and driving for Uber, prosecutors said.

The case came to light in March 2024, when the child told her mother about the abuse. The mother contacted police, and the Suffolk County Police Department's Special Victims Section launched an investigation. Diaz was arrested on March 13, 2024.

"Today's conviction represents a measure of justice for the young victim who showed tremendous courage in coming forward," Tierney said. "Our office remains committed to protecting children and holding predators accountable, regardless of their position in the community."

Diaz faces up to 16 years in prison followed by 15 years of post-release supervision, and will be required to register as a sex offender upon release. Reports on his sentencing date conflict, with the New York Post citing April 24 as his next court appearance and Greater Long Island reporting an expected sentencing of October 24; the official date was not confirmed by the court docket at the time of publication. Diaz's attorney could not be reached for comment.