Thea Digiammerino

Greenwich Man Accused of Sexually Assaulting 14-Year-Old Girl

Connecticut State Police have arrested a Greenwich man accused of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl in North Canaan, and this is not the first time the suspect has been charged with sexual assault.

Twenty-two-year-old Taiel Gookool was charged with second-degree sexual assault, risk of injury, and providing alcohol to a minor on Tuesday.  He was previously arrested in November 2015 on sexual assault charges out of Greenwich, according to court records.

According to the arrest warrant for the more recent case, the incident was first reported by the victim’s father on Nov. 12, 2016. The father reported to police that his younger daughter told him she’d been raped by someone named “Ty” while at a friend’s house in North Canaan in July or August of 2016.

The victim told police that she knew the suspect as “Tai” and that he forced her to have sex one night when she was staying at a friend’s house in North Canaan. The victim told police that “Tai” and another boy came over and that “Tai” brought vodka for everyone to drink. The victim said that "Tai" raped her and that after it happened, her friend’s mother caught the boys in the room and kicked them out.

According to the arrest warrant, when police spoke to the victim’s friend she told police that she’d met “Tai” through Instagram and provided his username.

Police identified Gookool as the suspect through the Instagram account. Police found that Gookool had been talking to other underage girls through his Instagram account. According to an interview noted in the arrest warrant, Gookool denied using the account and said he'd given it away, but there were recent pictures of him posted on it.

Gookool was charged and appeared in court Tuesday in this case. His bond was set at $100,000 in this case.

He has pleaded not guilty to the charges in the November 2015 case.

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