Albany County Man Pleads Not Guilty to Sexual Assault, Obscenity Charges
An Albany County man charged with sexual assault of a minor and promoting obscenity pleaded not guilty in Albany County District Court today.
The man was charged with one count of first degree sexual assault of a minor, three counts of second degree sexual assault of a minor and one count of promoting obscenity. If convicted on all charges, he faces up to 111 years in prison and $6,000 in fines.
According to court documents, the man was arrested after an Albany County Sheriff’s deputy conducted interviews with a 13-year-old girl, who told him that on Oct. 26, 2017, she and another girl, who was 12 at the time, were hanging out with the defendant, who was 20 at the time. The girl told the deputy that the three decided to engage in sexual activity while at the mobile home of the defendant. She said the defendant had sex with the first girl and then her. The girl told the deputy that the defendant then drove both girls to her residence.
Deputies then interviewed the defendant, who admitted to having sex with the 13-year-old girl on Oct. 26, 2017 as well as two other occasions, on Oct. 20, 2017 and Nov. 6, 2017, court documents state.
The defendant said he knew one of the girls was 13 years old, but that he thought the other girl was 13 as well. He told the deputy he knew having sex with the girls was illegal and he would probably get in trouble for it, but that he thought such activity should be legal, according to court documents.
The deputy obtained the 13-year-old-girl’s cell phone and was able to view texts between her and defendant. One of the messages contained pictures of the defendant’s nude body including his face, others contained pictures of the defendant’s genitalia.
The defendant’s trial is set for June 11 and 12.
Note: The names of defendants in sex crime cases are not used until a conviction, or guilty or no contest pleas unless the defendant is a person of public interest or trust. The defendant’s name has not been run in this case.