http://www.poststar.com/articles/2007/04/19/news/latest/doc4627ee4ec0af6218234384.txt
Probation officer considering plea deal
By DON LEHMAN,
Updated: Thursday, April 19, 2007 6:34 PM EDT
GLENS FALLS -- The former Warren County probation officer who was
accused of having improper sexual contact with young boys is mulling a
plea deal offer that would send him to jail for up to 6 months, a
prosecutor said.
Bradford K. Overton would be required to plead guilty to two misdemeanor
counts of forcible touching, serve a 6-month jail term and spend 6 years
on probation.
A felony charge of first-degree sexual abuse that accused him of
fondling a boy he knew through his former job as a Child Protective
Services caseworker would be dropped as part of the plea deal.
Washington County District Attorney Kevin Kortright, who is handling the
case as a special prosecutor, said it was not clear this week whether
Overton planned to accept the plea offer.
"We're still waiting to hear from him (Overton's lawyer) on it," he said.
Overton's lawyer, Garfield Raymond, did not return a phone call for
comment Wednesday. He said earlier this year that a plea deal was likely
in the case, however.
Overton, 30, of Glens Falls is due back in Glens Falls City Court on
Tuesday. He is free on his own recognizance.
He resigned his probation officer post shortly after his first arrest in
the case on Dec. 5. He was initially charged with fondling the buttocks
of two teenage boys he knew through a Queensbury church, police said.
Days later, though, a young boy came forward with allegations that
Overton fondled the boy's genitalia through his clothes in 2004-05, when
the boy was 9. Overton was a Warren County Child Protective Services
caseworker at the time, a post he held before becoming a probation
officer. He came in contact with the boy through his CPS duties, police
said.
Raymond said his client vehemently denied any accusations he had
improper contact with the 9-year-old.
He also was charged with misdemeanor counts of coercion and endangering
the welfare of a child in the case of the younger boy. First-degree
sexual abuse is punishable by up to 7 years in state prison.
CURRENTLY CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES VIOLATES MORE CIVIL RIGHTS ON A
DAILY BASIS THEN ALL OTHER AGENCIES COMBINED INCLUDING THE NSA/CIA
WIRETAPING PROGRAM....
BE SURE TO FIND OUT WHERE YOUR CANDIDATES STANDS ON THE ISSUE OF
REFORMING OR ABOLISHING CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES ("MAKE YOUR CANDIDATES
TAKE A STAND ON THIS ISSUE.") THEN REMEMBER TO VOTE ACCORDINGLY IF THEIR
"FAMILY UNFRIENDLY" IN THE NEXT ELECTION...
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