Post by newsfeeder on Jul 15, 2006 9:44:03 GMT -5
Oswego city police violated the rights of ex-city parks boss Robert P. Farrell last year when he confessed to using a city-owned computer for inappropriate exchanges with partners describing themselves as teenage girls, an Oswego County Court judge decided.
That means Farrell's admissions cannot be used against him in a future trial, Judge Walter W. Hafner Jr. ruled.
In addition, six charges of the 14-count indictment against Farrell including three of seven felonies were reduced to lesser charges in Hafner's ruling.
Farrell, 49, of 104 W. Schuyler St., Oswego, was not adequately read his rights, nor did he waive his right to have a lawyer present during questioning Aug. 3 at the Oswego police station, Hafner wrote in a 29-page ruling this week.
"The Court has no evidence before it to conclude (Farrell) understood his rights and . . . agreed to waive his rights," Hafner said.
After surrendering to police, the former city parks superintendent was promised if he told "the truth" that his cooperation would be taken into consideration, the judge wrote. Officer Joseph Brancato told Farrell police had evidence linking him to sexual communication with 18 minors, according to testimony related in the decision.
Later the same day, Farrell was interrogated without his lawyer present and wasn't read his Miranda rights until midway through the process, the judge ruled.
In his suppressed statement, Farrell said he regretted his behavior. "There were times that I ended up in conversations with young females when I sent inappropriate messages back and forth with them," he told Brancato in statements filed with the court. "The communication I had with the girls was a game and I never intended it to be real."
Brancato testified he didn't read Farrell his rights at the beginning of interrogation because Farrell's lawyer at the time, Jean Brown, had indicated her client would speak to police, Hafner wrote in summary.
But Hafner ruled police needed Farrell to sign a waiver before questioning him without a lawyer, since he had already hired Brown.
Farrell was indicted Feb. 10 on seven felony counts of first-degree disseminating indecent materials to minors and accompanying counts of misdemeanor endangering the welfare of a child.
Three of those felony counts were reduced to attempted disseminating indecent materials to minors, also felonies, after Hafner ruled there was not enough evidence to prove one of the cyber-partners was 15 years old. Three endangering the welfare of a child counts were also reduced to attempted endangering.
Hafner upheld the eight charges relating to Farrell's alleged communication with a 12- and a 13-year-old girl in 2002 and 2003. An Oswego County grand jury Feb. 10 accused him of "depicting actual or simulated nudity" by sending repeated instant messages and e-mails to girls soliciting them "to engage in sexual intercourse . . . or sexual contact" with him.
The judge dismissed a motion to throw out the entire grand jury indictment against Farrell. He also dismissed a motion to suppress files and other evidence seized from a city computer.
Lawyer Mark David Blum, who now represents Farrell after Brown withdrew as his lawyer in February, said he doesn't believe District Attorney Donald Dodd still has a case without the confession.
Dodd did not return a call seeking comment Friday afternoon.
from www.syracuse.com
That means Farrell's admissions cannot be used against him in a future trial, Judge Walter W. Hafner Jr. ruled.
In addition, six charges of the 14-count indictment against Farrell including three of seven felonies were reduced to lesser charges in Hafner's ruling.
Farrell, 49, of 104 W. Schuyler St., Oswego, was not adequately read his rights, nor did he waive his right to have a lawyer present during questioning Aug. 3 at the Oswego police station, Hafner wrote in a 29-page ruling this week.
"The Court has no evidence before it to conclude (Farrell) understood his rights and . . . agreed to waive his rights," Hafner said.
After surrendering to police, the former city parks superintendent was promised if he told "the truth" that his cooperation would be taken into consideration, the judge wrote. Officer Joseph Brancato told Farrell police had evidence linking him to sexual communication with 18 minors, according to testimony related in the decision.
Later the same day, Farrell was interrogated without his lawyer present and wasn't read his Miranda rights until midway through the process, the judge ruled.
In his suppressed statement, Farrell said he regretted his behavior. "There were times that I ended up in conversations with young females when I sent inappropriate messages back and forth with them," he told Brancato in statements filed with the court. "The communication I had with the girls was a game and I never intended it to be real."
Brancato testified he didn't read Farrell his rights at the beginning of interrogation because Farrell's lawyer at the time, Jean Brown, had indicated her client would speak to police, Hafner wrote in summary.
But Hafner ruled police needed Farrell to sign a waiver before questioning him without a lawyer, since he had already hired Brown.
Farrell was indicted Feb. 10 on seven felony counts of first-degree disseminating indecent materials to minors and accompanying counts of misdemeanor endangering the welfare of a child.
Three of those felony counts were reduced to attempted disseminating indecent materials to minors, also felonies, after Hafner ruled there was not enough evidence to prove one of the cyber-partners was 15 years old. Three endangering the welfare of a child counts were also reduced to attempted endangering.
Hafner upheld the eight charges relating to Farrell's alleged communication with a 12- and a 13-year-old girl in 2002 and 2003. An Oswego County grand jury Feb. 10 accused him of "depicting actual or simulated nudity" by sending repeated instant messages and e-mails to girls soliciting them "to engage in sexual intercourse . . . or sexual contact" with him.
The judge dismissed a motion to throw out the entire grand jury indictment against Farrell. He also dismissed a motion to suppress files and other evidence seized from a city computer.
Lawyer Mark David Blum, who now represents Farrell after Brown withdrew as his lawyer in February, said he doesn't believe District Attorney Donald Dodd still has a case without the confession.
Dodd did not return a call seeking comment Friday afternoon.
from www.syracuse.com