DID YOU SEE THIS IN TODAYS NEWSDAY?
Former Farmingdale Youth Minister Charged with Sodomy
AN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHER/YOUTH MINISTER
what is this world coming to? Made me shake my head
October 23, 2003, 1:36 PM EDT
A former youth minister at St. Kilian Roman Catholic Church in Farmingdale was arrested yesterday after confessing to detectives that he sodomized a teenager he met through a ministry group, Nassau police said.
Christopher T. Ross, 33, of 69 Town House Drive in Massapequa Park, admitted to police that he sodomized a 17-year-old boy in April 2001, Lieutenant John Allen, commanding officer of the Special Services Squad said.
The victim, whose identity is being withheld because of the alleged sex crime, is now 20. He told police about the alleged sodomy earlier this year, Allen said, saying that Ross, a youth minister at the church, befriended him when he was 15.
Ross, currently a teacher at Hampton Street Elementary School in Mineola, served as a mentor to the victim, Allen said, and throughout the course of their relationship, Ross allegedly made sexual advances toward the teen. The victim alleges that on April 27, 2001, while he was sleeping, Ross sodomized him, Allen said.
'The victim did his best to ignore the inappropriate contact,' Allen said. 'It's hard to explain why any sex crime victim waits' before alerting authorities.
Ross began as a volunteer youth minister at the church in 1997, Allen said. He stopped volunteering several years ago when the church began receiving rumors of Ross behaving inappropriately with youth members, Allen said.
Lorenzo Licopoli, superintendent of the Mineola Union Free School District where Ross is employed, said it is unlikely he will return to the classroom during the criminal investigation. Ross has worked as a special education teacher there for the past year-and-a-half.
'This is very shocking,' Licopoli said. 'We have to get more information' to determine what Ross' employment status will be. Licopoli added that school officials have had no reason in the past to be concerned about Ross' behavior or conduct in the classroom.
After Ross' arraignment on a count of third-degree sodomy in First District Court in Hempstead this morning, he was released on $2,500 bail. If convicted, he faces up to four years in prison. His attorney, Kevin Keating of Garden City, said Ross adamantly denies the allegations. 'He has an unblemished record,' Keating said. 'There has never been the slightest hint of improper conduct in his career.'
Copyright © 2003, Newsday, Inc.
AN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHER/YOUTH MINISTER
what is this world coming to? Made me shake my head
October 23, 2003, 1:36 PM EDT
A former youth minister at St. Kilian Roman Catholic Church in Farmingdale was arrested yesterday after confessing to detectives that he sodomized a teenager he met through a ministry group, Nassau police said.
Christopher T. Ross, 33, of 69 Town House Drive in Massapequa Park, admitted to police that he sodomized a 17-year-old boy in April 2001, Lieutenant John Allen, commanding officer of the Special Services Squad said.
The victim, whose identity is being withheld because of the alleged sex crime, is now 20. He told police about the alleged sodomy earlier this year, Allen said, saying that Ross, a youth minister at the church, befriended him when he was 15.
Ross, currently a teacher at Hampton Street Elementary School in Mineola, served as a mentor to the victim, Allen said, and throughout the course of their relationship, Ross allegedly made sexual advances toward the teen. The victim alleges that on April 27, 2001, while he was sleeping, Ross sodomized him, Allen said.
'The victim did his best to ignore the inappropriate contact,' Allen said. 'It's hard to explain why any sex crime victim waits' before alerting authorities.
Ross began as a volunteer youth minister at the church in 1997, Allen said. He stopped volunteering several years ago when the church began receiving rumors of Ross behaving inappropriately with youth members, Allen said.
Lorenzo Licopoli, superintendent of the Mineola Union Free School District where Ross is employed, said it is unlikely he will return to the classroom during the criminal investigation. Ross has worked as a special education teacher there for the past year-and-a-half.
'This is very shocking,' Licopoli said. 'We have to get more information' to determine what Ross' employment status will be. Licopoli added that school officials have had no reason in the past to be concerned about Ross' behavior or conduct in the classroom.
After Ross' arraignment on a count of third-degree sodomy in First District Court in Hempstead this morning, he was released on $2,500 bail. If convicted, he faces up to four years in prison. His attorney, Kevin Keating of Garden City, said Ross adamantly denies the allegations. 'He has an unblemished record,' Keating said. 'There has never been the slightest hint of improper conduct in his career.'
Copyright © 2003, Newsday, Inc.
