Moriches USPS worker accused of sexually abusing 15-year-old in vehicle

A Moriches postal worker, Jenry S. Buestan Gutama, 23, was accused of sexually abusing a 15-year-old inside a vehicle in East Hampton after the teen told school officials, who then called police. The chain of disclosure matters: a private report from a child became a criminal case within the school system’s mandated-reporting framework.

East Hampton Town police said the minor was familiar with Gutama, a detail that makes the allegation more alarming for Suffolk families because it suggests an existing connection rather than a random encounter. Police charged Gutama with rape and endangering the welfare of a child, and said the abuse involved a USPS vehicle.

The case raises immediate questions about how an adult in a public-facing federal job was able to come into such close contact with a minor, and whether any workplace warning signs, complaints or supervision issues should now be examined. For parents and youth workers across Suffolk County, the arrest is a reminder that trusted access can become a vulnerability when oversight fails.

It also puts school personnel at the center of child protection. New York Office of Children and Family Services guidance lists school officials among mandated reporters, alongside medical personnel, social service workers, child care workers, residential care workers and law enforcement. State guidance says suspected child abuse or maltreatment should be reported immediately, and child-protection reports are cross-reported to law enforcement, a system built to move quickly when a child discloses harm.

That process appears to have worked as designed here, with the teen speaking up and school officials escalating the allegation to police. The case now stretches from Moriches to East Hampton, carrying broader implications for schools, families and agencies that rely on employees to interact safely with children in neighborhoods across Long Island.