Date: Fri 05-Dec-1997

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDYG

Quick Words:

police-Crouch-exposure

Full Text:

LOCAL MAN GETS PROBABTION ON FELONY CHARGE

BY ANDREW GOROSKO

After being found guilty of a felony charge of risk of injury to a minor, a

local man has been ordered by a judge to stay out of the Orchard Hill Road

area for the next five years as a condition of his probation.

In the sentencing, Danbury Superior Court Judge Dale Radcliffe November 25

accepted a plea bargain agreement between the state and defendant Richard

Crouch, 37, of 30 Hi Barlow Road.

Police charged Mr Crouch June 26 on a warrant listing one count of risk of

injury to a minor and one count of public indecency in connection with a June

20 incident at Orchard Hill Nature Center, a public park, where Mr Crouch had

allegedly exposed himself to three children.

In a public indecency case, the charge of risk of injury to a minor involves

the willful or unlawful placement of a child under 16 in a situation where the

child's morals are likely to be impaired.

Mr Crouch employed the Alford Doctrine in the case, in which he did not admit

guilt, but acknowledged there was strong enough evidence that he would be

found guilty if the matter went to a trial.

In late June, about 30 Orchard Hill Road area residents concerned about the

exposure incident discussed the matter with Police Chief James E. Lysaght, Jr,

at an Orchard Hill Road home.

Those residents expressed deep concerns to Chief Lysaght, explaining they fear

such public indecency incidents could escalate into more serious offenses and

put their children in physically threatening situations.

Mr Crouch, who was represented in court by attorney Michael Paes, had pleaded

not guilty to the charges in July. On October 17, he employed the Alford

Doctrine on the risk of injury charge and a judge then entered a plea of

guilty. The public indecency charge was not prosecuted.

On November 26, Assistant State's Attorney Kevin Black offered Judge Radcliffe

a plea bargain agreement between the state and Mr Crouch, which the judge

rejected as being too lenient in light of Mr Crouch's extensive criminal

record.

Judge Radcliffe said Mr Crouch has committed many offenses in the past and has

avoided incarceration many times. "I see a continuing course of conduct," the

judge said. The victim continues to experience nightmares as a result of the

incident, the judge added.

Judge Radcliffe decided the matter would be resolved through either a criminal

trial or a stiffer plea bargain agreement between the state and Mr Crouch.

After considering the alternatives, the victim of the public indecency

incident opted not to go to a trial in which the victim would have had to

testify about the incident in public court in the presence of Mr Crouch.

As conditions of his probation, Judge Radcliffe ordered Mr Crouch not to drive

any motor vehicles for five years, not to consume alcohol or drugs during his

probation, that he be randomly tested for drug and/or alcohol use, and that he

not have any contact with the victim of the incident.

The judge ordered Mr Crouch to stay out of the Orchard Hill Road area, the

Orchard Hill Nature Center, and the bridle trails in that area for five years.

The judge is requiring that Mr Crouch pay for any psychiatric counseling Mr

Crouch may need and for any counseling the victim may need.

Judge Radcliffe also ordered that Mr Crouch wear an electronic monitoring

device for two years so that probation officials can keep tabs on his

whereabouts.

Also, the judge ordered Mr Crouch to make a charitable contribution of $500 to

a home for abused children.

If Mr Crouch violates the terms of his five-year probation, he would be

subject to even more severe penalties.

In sentencing Mr Crouch, Judge Radcliffe imposed an eight-year suspended

prison sentence. Consequently, if Mr Crouch is found to violate the terms of

his five-year probation, he could be sent to prison for up to eight years.

One count of felony risk of injury to a minor carries a maximum 10-year prison

sentence.

Following the sentencing, Dee Davis, who is the mother of the victim, said

residents of the Orchard Hill Road area will be organizing a neighborhood

crime watch program to be aware of any suspicious activity there. Through such

programs, the residents of a neighborhood systematically alert police of

possible criminal activity. Last June, Chief Lysaght urged that the neighbors

form a neighborhood watch group.

Following the June incident, Ms Davis doggedly pursued the prosecution of Mr

Crouch in the court system.