No parole for Troy sex offender By BOB GARDINIER, Staff writer . Wednesday, January 2, 2008
TROY -- A city man convicted twice of sexually abusing a young girl despite his repeated pleas of innocence has been denied parole.
John "Jack" Carroll, 53, a former boat salesman and hockey coach, appeared before the parole board Dec. 18 and could have been released from prison next month but the board turned down his parole request, parole officials said. He will not be eligible for another two years. His lawyer, E. Stewart Jones, has a request pending before the federal courts to review the case. Carroll was convicted in December 1997 of raping and sexually abusing the girl, but the state Court of Appeals dismissed the rape conviction in November 2000. The justices ruled that former District Attorney Patricia DeAngelis, an assistant district attorney when she prosecuted the case, had insufficient evidence to prove the crime and ordered the rape charges dropped and a new trial held on the sexual abuse charges. After the second trial in January 2001, Carroll was convicted of first-degree sexual abuse, and was sentenced to 10 to 20 years in prison. The victim accused Carroll of molesting her between 1993 and 1997 in apartments in Troy and North Greenbush, beginning when she was 9. During the trial, the defense painted the girl as a jealous manipulator who had resented Carroll, had confused reality with a dream, or was lying to get attention. Carroll's relatives and supporters established a Web site to air their concerns that he did not abuse the girl. Carroll lost an appeal of his second conviction. In overturning the first trial, the justices criticized DeAngelis for using witnesses to testify that Carroll never denied the charges when in fact he did. During the investigation into the victim's allegations, police arranged for the victim to confront Carroll in a recorded phone call, but Carroll repeatedly denied the girl's accusations on the tape. The trial judge then denied defense requests to let the jury hear it.
During the trial, the defense painted the girl as a jealous manipulator who had resented Carroll, had confused reality with a dream, or was lying to get attention.
And what IF this is true? It would be a sad state of affairs if it was.
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