Had a prior conviction after a raid in 2021, three months before current abuse began
ALBANY — A Colonie man was sentenced on Friday, April 25, after pleading guilty in January to a felony charge of first-degree criminal sexual act in Albany County Court, admitting to the sexual assault of a 13-year-old girl.
Derek George, 33, accepted the plea deal from the Albany County District Attorney’s Office, which satisfied an eight-count indictment related to three separate incidents. Judge Andra Ackerman sentenced George to serve 14 years in state prison, followed by 20 years of post-release supervision. He will also be required to register as a sex offender upon his release from prison.
The indictment stated that George abused the victim, whom he knew, beginning in September 2021 and continuing until 2023. The victim came forward in January 2024, leading to investigations by Colonie and Albany police.
Colonie police initially arrested George on March 21, 2024 and an Albany County grand jury handed up the indictment on July 9. The original charges included two counts of predatory sexual assault against a child, two counts of first-degree sexual abuse, attempted second-degree rape, second-degree rape, second-degree criminal sexual act, and multiple counts of endangering the welfare of a child.
At the time of the abuse, George was on probation stemming from a 2022 conviction for attempted sale of a controlled substance. That conviction was the result of a plea deal following his arrest in a 2021 state attorney general’s raid that targeted a major drug and gun trafficking ring in the Capital Region. George was previously named along with 46 other individuals for their roles in two major drug and firearm distribution networks that trafficked heroin, cocaine, oxycodone, and firearms in the Capital Region. According to indictments unsealed in Albany County Court on June 24, 2021, a yearlong investigation resulted in the seizure of nearly 1.2 kilograms of cocaine, 140 grams of heroin mixed with fentanyl, oxycodone, $40,000 in cash, and nine firearms, including one “ghost gun.”
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Ariel Fallon, Bureau Chief of the Special Victims Unit.
Fallon read several victim impact statements from family members and the victim before sentencing.
“You took away more than just my sense of safety; you stole my peace of mind and my innocence, you also shattered my self-worth,” the victim wrote. “Each moment since you entered my life, it’s been a battle against the echoes of fear and pain you’ve left behind. I may be scarred, but I am not defined by what you did to me. I will find a way to heal, even if that journey feels endless. I will rise from this, and I will not let your actions define my future.”
