DELHI _ Lying to his probation officer about the details of his crimes earned a former Franklin substitute teacher a longer sentence Thursday in Delaware County Court.
Robert R. Becker Jr., 37, of Franklin, was sentenced to two concurrent terms of four years in prison and 10 years' post-release supervision.
He pleaded guilty Jan. 15 to two counts of first-degree sexual abuse in a plea deal that called for a sentence of one year in jail, 10 years of probation and registration as a sex offender.
In March, Delaware County District Attorney Richard Northrup requested that sentencing be delayed so he could make additional motions.
Northrup said Thursday that he requested Becker's sentence be toughened because Becker did not fully cooperate with the Probation Department during pre-sentence investigation.
"All he had to do was tell the truth, and he chose to lie," Northrup said. "The enhanced sentence is based on his own conduct."
Becker's sentencing was delayed several times Thursday when his attorney, Larisa Obolensky, of Delhi, submitted several motions on his behalf. She requested access to the grand-jury testimony of one of his victims, claiming her client was not aware of post-plea conditions, and moved to withdraw Becker's guilty plea.
Judge Donald Cerio ruled against Obolensky on all motions.
Regarding the grand-jury minutes, Cerio said he didn't find any necessity to release the minutes and that there was no basis in law to do so.
As for the plea conditions, Cerio said, "If one says to a person to fully cooperate, I don't believe I have to say to you to be honest and truthful. It was intended and expressed unambiguously _ you have to fully cooperate."
Obolensky said that when Northrup filed a motion on March 9 to void the plea bargain, he reneged on the sentence portion of the plea agreement. She added that Becker was not aware the district attorney could change the terms.
Cerio said that at the time of the plea, it was clear that Becker was aware of the terms: if he did not comply, he would lose the plea bargain, but he would not be allowed to withdraw his plea.
"It is clear in my mind now and it was clear in my mind then that your client knew those caveats were in place based on the lengthy colloquy," Cerio said. "The motion to withdraw the plea is denied."
Cerio then moved to sentencing.
After sentencing, families react
Northrup said Becker is a man "convicted by his own admission of sexual conduct with teenage girls, and all of those girls are here today."
Northrup then indicated two victims wanted victim statements read in court. Obolensky objected, saying she had no knowledge of who the people were and that the court did not advise her there would be such statements.
After Northrup conferred with several people among the 25-to-30 family and friends of victims, he told Cerio the victims would withdraw their statements.
When asked if he wanted to address the court before sentencing, Becker said, "No, thank you."
Cerio said deciding on the duration of the sentence was difficult.
"No matter what sentence is determined, there may always be concerns that it was too light or too heavy," Cerio said. "Whatever the sentence, it won't assuage the angst, anger, fear, hurt or feelings of helplessness of being a victim."
Cerio told Becker that he found it disconcerting that in the pre-plea report, he did not accept responsibility or show remorse.
"They are just kids," Cerio said. "And you as an adult should have taken mature, responsible steps to ensure that nothing happened."
Cerio said Becker's accounts of the incidents "served to shift responsibility to these children, and that should never have happened.
"The fault lies nowhere but squarely on your shoulders," Cerio added. "I hope there is a recognition of that not only by you but also by your family."
When Cerio annonuced the four-year sentence, sobbing could be heard from some of the people gathered to support the victims. As Becker was led from the courtroom in handcuffs, the group applauded.
The mother of a victim said the sentence meant relief.
"We are joyful that he got what was coming to him," she said. "We thank the school for letting us know our daughter was one of his victims."
The mother said their family had a personal relationship with Becker and his family, so they were devastated to discover what had happened.
"I don't let my daughter out of my sight, and I sleep with the door locked and a gun by my bed," she said. "It's just rough. Now we want to heal and move on, but it's hard to trust people."
Franklin Central School Principal Jason Thomson said he and Superintendent Gordon Daniels worked with the investigators from the moment they were told of an allegation of Becker raping a girl in September.
By the following afternoon, other girls were coming forward.
Thomson said that when Becker was hired, he was considered trustworthy because he was a parent who held a position as a corrections officer with the Delaware County Sheriff's Department.
"We were duped," Thomson said. "We were fooled, but as soon as we heard about this, we took all the legal steps. He is very good at what he does. He slipped though, but we caught him, and the Franklin community will rebound from this."
Thomson said the girls involved need to be commended for being so strong.
"They found strengths in themselves that they didn't know they had," the mother said.
Becker still faces sentencing on charges of third-degree rape, endangering the welfare of a child and second-degree attempted sexual abuse, but no date has been set for that court appearance.
Becker was arraigned in September on two indictments charging him with having sex with students and attempting sexual contact with other students. Northrup said there are five victims.
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