| After
about seven hours of jury deliberation,
47-year-old Thomas Levandowski showed little
emotion as he was convicted of a total of 43
counts, including rape, course of sexual conduct
against a child and endangering the welfare of a
child for the sexual assaults that occurred at
his 35 Snow St. home in Hoosick Falls every
other month from 1996 to 2001.
Levandowski, who spent time as the chief of
police in Cambridge, and as a deputy with the
Rensselaer County Sheriff's Department, was also
found guilty of criminal contempt for violating
an order of protection by visiting the now
15-year-old girl's school in Hoosick Falls last
September.
Over the course of the 10-day trial, Assistant
District Attorney Patricia DeAngelis called
several witnesses, including friends of the
victim, school officials and physicians, who
testified to evidence of physical and sexual
abuse that she suffered at the hands of the
defendant.
During her closing argument on Monday, DeAngelis
became extremely emotional when advocating for
the girl, painting a picture of a frightened
child who could not perform in school and lost
nearly 30 pounds due to horrific mental,
physical and sexual abuse.
Levandowski's attorney, Peter Lynch, maintained
throughout the trial that his client was being
falsely accused by a girl he categorized as
"a manipulator."
He also tried to attack her credibility by
pointing out inconsistencies in statements she
made to authorities and between grand jury and
trial testimony.
Perhaps the biggest point of contention was a
phone call between the girl and Levandowski that
was set up and recorded by the State Police.
While Lynch contended that his client had denied
the rapes on the tape, DeAngelis said he was
veiling threats and attempting to get the girl
to change her story to save himself.
District Attorney Kenneth Bruno said he was
extremely pleased with the result of the case
and the work put in by DeAngelis and the State
Police.
"This was not an easy case to prove, but we
stayed with it," Bruno said. "All we
really had to go on was the victim ... but (DeAngelis)
did an excellent job as always ... and the State
Police lead by Senior Investigator Tom Aiken are
also to be commended.
"We are just thankful that this victim was
able to see some justice. She went through a
terrible ordeal. We've seen here that sexual abuse crosses
all walks of life. It's unfortunate, but that's
the way it is."
Lynch could not be reached for comment.
Levandowski will be sentenced by Supreme Court
Judge George Ceresia on Aug. 22.
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