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Professor accused of sex offenses with 15-year-old

On Behalf of | Nov 7, 2013 | Sex Crimes |

Criminal law enforcement regularly imposes an enormous toll of punishment and personal disgrace upon a parade of highly respected professionals who are astonishingly caught in a wide variety of human weaknesses. The latest example of such a downfall occurred when New York State Police arrested a professor from a neighboring state who they say crossed state lines and had sexual contact with a 15-year-old teenager. The professor is charged with the sex offenses of third-degree criminal sexual act and endangering the welfare of a child, according to state police authorities.

As is so often the case in recent years, this professional met his final denouement by engaging in communications with the teen over the Internet. It seems to be a medium that easily facilitates the expression of deeply-buried illicit urges in persons from all walks of life. He is said to have traveled to New York and met with the teen at the teen’s Somers, New York, home. They reportedly engaged in sexual contact.

He was a professor since 1968 at the Western Connecticut State University. The institution issued a statement expressing “surprise and shock.” The president of WCSU said that there were no previous troubles with the professor in the past 45 years. The professor remained in a New York jail at the time of the last press reports.

The university reported that he has not shown up for work. New York defense counsel may pursue proof that the teen was a willing partner in the sex offenses, but the law does not recognize the teen’s ability to give consent. Nonetheless, if the teen lured the man to New York in some way or another, that fact may provide some mitigation at the time of sentencing. Furthermore, counsel will likely scour the criminal statute under which the arrests were made to determine whether each element of the crime is supported by proof beyond a reasonable doubt.

Source: wfsb.com, WCSU professor charged with sexual assault, Steven Yablonski, Joseph Wenzel IV and Robert Goulston, Oct. 29, 2013

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