Suffolk jury convicts Mastic man in infant strangulation case

A Suffolk County jury convicted Amar Corbin of Mastic of strangling and injuring an 8-month-old baby, a verdict that ended a child-abuse trial centered on an overnight stay that prosecutors said turned dangerous. The child’s name and gender were withheld by the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office to protect the infant’s identity.

Prosecutors announced the verdict on June 23, 2026, after jurors found Corbin, 25, guilty of second-degree strangulation, second-degree assault and endangering the welfare of a child. The case stemmed from events on May 13, 2025, when the baby was left in Corbin’s care for the night.

According to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, Corbin drank alcohol and grew increasingly agitated while arguing with his then-girlfriend over the phone. Prosecutors said he applied pressure to the infant’s face and chest, causing injuries that included bruises resembling a handprint and other signs consistent with strangulation.

District Attorney Raymond Tierney said someone who would harm an innocent child should not remain free in the community. Corbin now faces up to seven years in state prison, and one report said he is scheduled to return to court for sentencing on July 28, 2026.

The conviction lands in a county that has been publicly reworking its child-protection system since the Thomas Valva case, which exposed failures in Suffolk County’s handling of vulnerable children. In November 2024, county officials announced major Child Protective Services reforms tied to that case, making Corbin’s prosecution part of a larger local focus on how abuse warning signs are handled before a child is left in a violent situation.

For Suffolk families, relatives and mandated reporters, the case underscores how quickly a domestic dispute, alcohol use and escalating anger can become a child safety crisis. The jury’s verdict turned those facts into felony convictions, but the injury to an 8-month-old baby is the deeper warning: when an infant is placed in the middle of an adult conflict, the consequences can be immediate and severe.