GLENVILLE Teacher accused of sex with teen BY STEVEN COOK Gazette Reporter
A Glenville native who still lives in the town has been arrested in Hudson Falls, in Washington County, accused of having sex with a 14-year-old while working as a teacher there, authorities said. Kason O’Neil, 26, of 18 Jennifer Road, was charged with two counts of second-degree rape, a felony. O’Neil is a physical education teacher at Hudson Falls High School and a coach of the school’s cross country, indoor and outdoor track teams, police said. He is accused of having sex with the student in December 2005 and between January and June 2006. O’Neil is a 2000 graduate of Scotia-Glenville schools, spokesman Robert Hanlon confi rmed Tuesday. O’Neil was never employed by the Scotia-Glenville district, Hanlon said. O’Neil participated in several sports while a student at Scotia-Glenville, including track and field and football, records show. Newspaper records also show him as a football coach at Saratoga Catholic. Officials with that school could not be reached for comment Tuesday. Hudson Falls police continued to investigate the case Tuesday, Detective Curtis Pedone said. Police are concerned that there may be other victims and urged parents to speak to their children to see if they had contact with O’Neil either during or after school. Anyone with information is asked to call the Hudson Falls Police Department at 747-4011. O’Neil was arraigned and ordered held on $50,000 bail in the Washington County Jail. A Washington County grand jury is expected to meet to consider more charges. The case was investigated by Hudson Falls village police and state police. Reach Gazette reporter Steven Cook at 395-3122 or
Teacher acquitted on most serious charges in sex case
By LEIGH HORNBECK, Staff writer Last updated: 8:57 p.m., Thursday, September 18, 2008
FORT EDWARD -- A Washington County jury has acquitted a Hudson Falls teacher on the most serious charges in a case in which he was accused of having sex with one of his students.
After deliberating over the course of four days and being deadlocked, the jury late Thursday found Kason O'Neil, 26, guilty of two misdemeanors for which he could get probation or spend up to a year in jail.
But that was a far cry from the 21 counts - including numerous felonies that he had faced which could have landed him in prison for years had he been convicted on those charges.
O'Neil was accused of having sexual contact with a girl on the track team he coached at the Hudson Falls High School. The jury found him guilty of endangering the welfare of a child.
He is slated to be sentenced Oct. 17 and remains free on bail.
His defense attorney Terry Kindlon said he was pleased with the outcome.
``I can't do anything except praise this jury. They took their job very very seriously and they really went above and beyond in an effort to understand their responsibility as a jury. I think they were just making absolutely sure of what they were doing.''
He called the jury's finding a "compromise verdict." Still, he said he plans to appeal the conviction.
A former Hudson Falls physical education teacher was sentenced to 60 days in prison Friday for an inappropriate relationship with a 15 year-old girl.
Kason O'Neil, 26, was sentenced in Washington County Court Friday, after being found guilty of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and fourth-degree sexual abuse, both misdemeanor charges.
In addition to jail time, O'Neil will have three years probation. An order of protection from O'Neil was given to the student.
The Glenville man resigned from the school district this morning where he also served as the track and field coach for the girls, one of whom was the victim.
O'Neil was released to his attorney for the next 120 days pending an appeal.
Coach's jail time on hold Scotia man convicted in sex abuse of girl is appealing jury's decision
By LEIGH HORNBECK, Staff writer First published in print: Saturday, October 18, 2008
FORT EDWARD — A former Hudson Falls coach was sentenced Friday to 60 days in jail after he was convicted of sexually abusing a girl on his track team.
But the sentence was set aside for four months while Kason O'Neil, 26, a Scotia resident, appeals the conviction. A Washington County jury found O'Neil guilty of sex abuse in the third degree last month and endangering the welfare of a child, both misdemeanors that carried up to a year in jail. If the conviction stands, he will serve three years' probation in addition to his time in county jail.
O'Neil had been charged with several felonies after the girl accused him of rape and sexual contact that began when she was 14. The felony charges were dropped and the jury spent four days deliberating the remaining charges.
O'Neil's lawyer, Terry Kindlon, said in court he will appeal based on the admission by a juror during deliberations that her daughter was raped several years ago but the attacker was never arrested.
Katherine Henley, the assistant district attorney who handled the O'Neil case, said Kindlon was unlikely to win appeal because the woman, "juror number 9," made the comment in passing and it did not affect her ability to judge O'Neil's guilt or innocence.
The victim sobbed in the courtroom while her sister read a statement the victim wrote.
"Three years ago, you tore my life to pieces and took apart my self-confidence until there was nothing left of me," she wrote.
"What you did will always stay with me but with all the love and support I have, I know I will get through it.''
O'Neil did not make a statement in court. He is free on bail.
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