A former power broker from upstate New York was sentenced Friday for sexually abusing a child.
Steve Pigeon, former chairman of the Erie County Democratic Party, was ordered to serve 364 days in jail and will be required to register as a sex offender when he is released after pleading guilty to a charge of first-degree sexual abuse in November 2023.
“Sexual assault on a child is a completely evil act. It is one without justification or redemption. But this case is much more than that. Here, the defendant, a powerful man disguised as protecting wealth and political influence, no doubt thought he could do whatever he wanted,” prosecutor Cathleen M. Roemer said, Buffalo News reported.
Pigeon sexually assaulted a 9-year-old girl between Thanksgiving and Christmas in 2016, according to the Erie County District Attorney.
The girl, now a teenager, was in the courtroom when Pigeon was sentenced.
“I remember for the first year after it happened, I honestly didn’t know what really happened,” the victim said in a statement read in court by Roemer. “I knew it was wrong and it shouldn’t have happened. But I was a child. “I didn’t know what rape was or what it meant.”
Steve Pigeon, former chairman of the Erie County Democratic Party, was ordered to serve 364 days in jail after pleading guilty to one count of first-degree sexual abuse. Erie County District Attorney’s Office
“I wish he could spend the rest of his life in prison,” he added.
The case was headed to trial, but prosecutors ultimately reached a deal to prevent the victim from testifying.
Pigeon declined to make a statement or offer an apology.
Pigeon (right) will be required to register as a sex offender upon his release. WKBW
It’s not the first time Pigeon, a former close ally of former Governor Cuomo, has been on the wrong side of the law.
In July 2022, he was sentenced to one year in prison and ordered to pay a $5,000 fine after being found guilty of bribing a state judge.
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