A man from Deer Park was arrested for allegedly having sex with a 16-year-old girl.

Officials searched for the suspect for months after putting out a Crime Stoppers alert for Philip Evanson last May and offering a $5,000 reward for a strong lead.

The father of the victim says that the family learned of the incident when their daughter was found to be pregnant.

He says the 28-year-old man was a close family friend.

"I was very hurt, I was very sad, I was very confused," he says.

Evanson is expected to be arraigned Wednesday on a third-degree rape charge.

The Victims Information Bureau of Suffolk says roughly 95 percent of these incidents happen with someone the child or the family knows. But there are precautions parents can take to help protect their children.

Anthony Zenkus of the Suffolk bureau says that parents need to be diligent with their kids. They have to have conversations with their kids and establish and open door for communication. 

"Predators are going to want to get children alone and spend time alone with them," he says. "So I think parents need to be careful with who spends time alone with their children."