Jimmy Velasquez Gomez, of Mastic, sentenced to 6 years in prison for abusing children in Medford T.J. Maxx

A Mastic maintenance worker, arrested and charged last November with inappropriately touching three children on separate occasions at a T.J. Maxx store in Medford, was sentenced on Friday to six years in prison after pleading guilty to three counts of first-degree sexual abuse in August, authorities said.

The Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office said Jimmy Harry Velasquez Gomez, 44, a Honduran national, admitted "grabbing the buttocks of three young girls." The district attorney said he entered a guilty plea on Aug. 27 before Acting Supreme Court Justice Karen M. Wilutis.

On Friday, Velasquez Gomez was sentenced to three concurrent terms followed by 10 years of post-release supervision. The court also issued full "stay-away" orders of protection for each victim. The district attorney’s office said Velasquez Gomez was certified as a sex offender.

Prosecutors said Velasquez Gomez was in the country illegally and said the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, has lodged a detainer to take custody of him following the completion of his sentence.

According to court documents and admissions made during his plea allocution, authorities said on April 19, 2025, Velasquez Gomez squeezed the buttocks of a 7-year-old girl who had gone alone to the toy aisle of the T.J. Maxx store while shopping with her mother. The girl immediately told her mother of the incident and Suffolk County police were called, but Velasquez Gomez had fled the store, authorities said.

The second incident occurred on Sept. 20, 2025, when authorities said an 11-year-old girl in the store with her parents, went to look for a gift for a friend and saw Velasquez Gomez "standing nearby and holding his genitals through his clothes." Authorities said Velasquez Gomez then walked toward the girl and grabbed her buttocks as he passed. The girl told her parents what had happened, but Velasquez Gomez had fled the store before police were notified.

The third incident took place on last Oct. 29, when a 9-year-old girl was approached by Velasquez Gomez, who "pulled up the bottom of her sweatshirt and squeezed her buttocks," according to the district attorney’s office.

Evidence uncovered by police included surveillance showing Velasquez Gomez touching his genitals over his clothing while staring at the third victim, authorities said.

In a statement Friday, Suffolk District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney said: "Every parent should be able to let their young child walk to the next aisle at a store without fear. This defendant violated that basic trust three times, targeting young girls in places where they should have been safe. Today, he has been held accountable for his actions and sentenced for the harm he caused."

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com

John Valenti, a Newsday reporter since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press, Society of the Silurians and National Headliner Awards for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing. He is the author of “Swee'pea,” about New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. His debut crime novel, “For Nothing Is Hidden,” rooted in 1950s Long Island, was released in October 2025.