(Keene, New Hampshire) Thirty-year-old former youth counselor Cathleen Crowley pleaded guilty to bargained-down charges of misdemeanor sexual assault and misdemeanor providing alcohol to a minor.
As a result of a re-negotiated deal, she was sentenced by Superior Court Judge John P. Arnold to 30 days in the Cheshire County Jail.
Crowley's original plea bargain was deemed unworkable by Judge Brian T. Tucker because it included no jail time even though she admitted to liquoring up and engaging in sex with a 14-year-old boy she had authority over.
Arnold sentenced Crowley to a year in jail with 11 months suspended on the conviction for endangering the welfare of a child, a misdemeanor.So, although Crowley will spend a month in jail, she gets no felony conviction and no registration as a sex offender. Slap on the wrist? Readers can make the call.
She received a consecutive, suspended one-year jail sentence on the conviction for providing alcohol to a minor, also a misdemeanor.
Both suspended sentences could be imposed if Crowley is caught breaking the law in the next five years.
Crowley was placed on probation for two years, ordered to undergo a psychosexual evaluation for sexual offenders and barred from contacting the student.
NH Counselor Faces Child Sex Charges
[Previous 11/12/08 post]
(Keene, New Hampshire) A 29-year-old former counselor for troubled youth, Cathleen Crowley, has been charged with two counts of felonious sexual assault for allegedly engaging in sex with a student. Prosecutors say Crowley had two sexual encounters with the boy.
On Monday, Crowley appeared in court to formalize a plea agreement with the prosecution which would have given her a suspended sentence. Unfortunately, the judge rejected the negotiated sentence of the plea deal. The judge wanted her to go to jail for six months.
As a result, Cathleen Crowley backed out of the deal.
It's not clear what happens next. However, if she goes to trial, she could face a possible 16 years in prison.
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