29-year-old Douglas Eckler of Cohoes was sentenced to 25 years to Life in State Prison before the Hon. Roger McDonough in Albany County Supreme Court this morning.

On October 18, 2023, Eckler was convicted of One Count of Predatory Sexual Assault Against a Child, a Class A-II felony, following a jury trial.

The indictment alleged that Eckler sexually abused a child who was known to him over the course of several years, while the victim was under the age of 13, between the Spring of 2020, and February 28^th of 2023.

Judge McDonough said:

“To call it sexual abuse doesn’t do it justice based on the testimony of the young victim in this case. It was a sexual assault, which occurred on a regular basis… Beyond the physical harm… you took from her; her innocence, her childhood, her ability to trust others… Should you be released at any time, you are very likely to subject some other child to this vile and criminal abuse. As such, the only appropriate sentence, is to sentence you to an indeterminate period of incarceration of 25 years to life.”

In addition to his prison sentence, an order of protection has been issued on behalf of the victim.

Assistant District Attorney Ariel Fallon and Assistant District Attorney Jacob Sheingold handled the prosecution of this case.