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Cops: Psychologist raped her teen patient
Jennifer Hastings, 32, was appointed by court  

By KENNETH C. CROWE II, Staff writer
Last updated: 4:06 p.m., Monday, October 15, 2007

SAND LAKE -- A psychologist hired by Rensselaer County had sex with a 14-year-old boy who was under her care, State Police said.
  
Jennifer A. Hastings, 32, was arrested on Saturday and charged with second-degree rape. Hastings, who is under contract with the county's Unified Family Services unit, was the boy's court-appointed counselor, police said.

She was arrested after a state trooper assigned to the Tamarac Secondary School spotted Hastings picking up the boy from school. State Police said Hastings initially claimed to be the boy's sister, but investigators discovered her true identity.

State Police said further investigation determined that the woman moved the counseling sessions from the school to her car in the school parking lot.

Interviewed by investigators, the boy admitted he had sexual intercourse and other contact with the woman in locations that included motels, Hastings' car, and her home in Sand Lake, State Police said.

Hastings was released on $20,000 bail Saturday following her arraignment in town court. Hastings has been suspended with pay by the county as the investigation continues.

"We are cooperating fully with the State Police and their investigation of these disturbing allegations. The employee in question has been relieved of their duties," said Chris Meyer, a county spokesman.

"This situation will be monitored closely and necessary steps will be taken as information becomes available," Meyer said.

Anyone with information regarding the case is asked to call the State Police at 732-4644.

  

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court-appointed counselor,

yup,,,,we make 'em and we feed 'em......what the @#@$@#$%#$%^%&^%^&%^#%$!@#

http://www.dailygazette.com

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Psychologist charged with raping boy, 14
BY JILL BRYCE Gazette Reporter

A psychologist appointed by the court to counsel a 14-year old boy has been charged with raping the minor in her car and area motels.
   Jennifer A. Hastings, 32, of Sheer Road, Sand Lake, was charged on Saturday with second-degree rape, a D felony. The charge is rape because the alleged victim is too young legally to consent to sex, accordiong to police.
   State Police BCI Capt. William Sprague said Hastings was a psychologist whom the Rensselaer County Unified Family Services contracted with to counsel the 14-year old.
   After questioning by police, the youth admitted he and Hastings had intercourse and other sexual contact on several occasions — in her car, at area motels, and also at her home in Sand Lake, according to police.
   “This conduct has been occurring at least a month. We are still documenting facts,” said Sprague. “There is a lot we can’t say because of the 14-year-old’s status.”
   “We don’t know of any other victims,” said Sprague. “We will interview anyone else who may be vulnerable or may have knowledge.”
   Trooper Michael Anson, a school resource officer assigned to the Tamarac Secondary School, met Hastings when she picked the boy up from school.
   She told Anson that she was the boy’s sister, but Anson got suspicious, and an investigation determined her identity, said police.
   Police said that she moved her counseling sessions from the school to her car in the school parking lot and they said the conduct had been going on for a month.
   Hastings is married with no children.

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Accused psychologist quits her job  
  

First published: Saturday, October 27, 2007

SAND LAKE -- A 32-year-old Rensselaer County psychologist accused of having sex with a 14-year-old male student has quit her job, county officials announced Friday.
Jennifer A. Hastings, who has been on paid leave since her Oct. 12 arrest, resigned her $52,426-a-year post effective Oct. 19, said county spokesman Chris Meyer.

  
Hastings remains free on $20,000 bail on charges of felony second-degree rape for allegedly having sex with the boy, a high school freshman whom she was providing with court-ordered counseling.

She is due in Sand Lake Town Court on Nov. 19. Her case is expected to go before a county grand jury, but Meyer declined comment on whether that is being pursued.

Hastings' lawyer, Steve Coffey, could not be reached for comment late Friday.

The unidentified victim has told State Police that Hastings allegedly had sex with him in an Albany County motel and later at the Sheer Road home in Sand Lake that the counselor shared with her husband, who was out of town during the alleged incident.

A state trooper stopped Hastings after she picked up the boy at school and drove off the campus. She claimed she was the boy's older sister, but investigators later uncovered the alleged sexual relationship when the boy gave a statement to police.

http://www.dailygazette.com

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Ballston Spa school, teachers reach contract agreement
Friday, March 28, 2008
By Kathy Parker (Contact)
Gazette Reporter

BALLSTON SPA — The Ballston Spa Board of Education has reached a new five-year agreement with teachers calling for an annual cost of living increase of 2.6 percent.
Superintendent of Schools Ray Colucciello said the pact was made with three months left on the current contract between the district and the teachers.
"I think it's a fair contract for the district and the certified staff," he said. "Both sides had to compromise and this contract gives the district five years of knowing what costs to expect."
There are about 380 teachers in Ballston Spa's three elementary schools, the middle school and high school.
Members of the school board will be meeting next week with Malta officials to discuss the possibility of a new school building in the town.
School board members are planning for new construction to keep up with an expected student population increase in future years as well as creating classrooms to replace some that are being abandoned in the Malta Avenue Intermediate School.
The school is the oldest in the district and renovating and repairing it to meet state education codes would cost millions of dollars, according to district architects.
The meeting in Malta is scheduled for Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the Town Hall.

http://www.timesunion.com

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Ex-counselor denies rape
Jennifer Hastings, 32, accused of sexual encounters with a 14-year- old boy she treated, pleads not guilty

By BOB GARDINIER, Staff writer
First published: Thursday, April 3, 2008


TROY -- Jennifer Hastings, a 32-year-old former Rensselaer County psychologist, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to felony charges she raped a 14-year-old boy she was counseling.
The Sand Lake woman appeared for arraignment on the charges before Rensselaer County Judge Patrick McGrath, and later she and her attorney, Steven Coffey, had no comment. She is free on $20,000 bail, and no court dates were set Wednesday.


Hastings was indicted Friday on felony charges of second-degree rape and criminal sex act and misdemeanor charges of endangering the welfare of a child and third-degree sexual abuse. She has since quit her $52,426-a-year job as a court-assigned counselor for the freshman at Tamarac High School in Brunswick.
Police said the relationship allegedly turned sexual during September and October. Trysts allegedly occurred at the school, in a parking lot across Route 2 from the school, in Schodack and Colonie motels and at Hastings' Sheer Road home.
Hastings faces separate rape charges in Colonie for allegedly taking the boy to a hotel there, but she has not been indicted by an Albany County grand jury.
Trooper Michael Anson, the school's resource officer, said he saw Hastings pick up the boy at school one day in October and drive off the campus. He began investigating and later spoke to Hastings, who claimed she was the boy's older sister, troopers said. Investigators then got statements from the boy, leading to Hastings' arrest. She is not related to the victim, police said.

I guess there's a reason she is a psychologist......you can only pick apples from an apple tree....

http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=727958

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Ex-school psychologist admits sex with student

By BOB GARDINIER, Staff writer
Last updated: 1:06 p.m., Thursday, October 9, 2008

TROY — A 33-year-old psychologist admitted in court this morning that she had repeated sexual encounters with a 14-year-old student she was counseling.
     
Jennifer Hastings of Sand Lake, a former Rensselaer County psychologist whose trial in the case was to begin next week, made the admissions while entering a plea before Judge Patrick McGrath. Her family, as well as the victim and his family, looked on during the plea.

Hastings was a court-assigned counselor for the then-freshman at Tamarac High School in Brunswick when the acts occurred in September and October 2007.

Trysts occurred in a parking lot across from the school, in a Schodack hotel and at Hastings' Sheer Road home.

"It started with kissing in the parking lot," Hastings told McGrath. "I had oral sexual contact with him."

McGrath also asked Hastings what happened when she took the student to a Schodack motel and later to her Sheer Road home.

"There was sex. Yeah, I had sex with him," Hastings responded.

In an unusual move, Hastings and her attorney Steve Coffey agreed to plea to the entire indictment against her.

She could be sentenced in December to between 2 to 20 years in state prison, though representatives of the district attorney's office noted in court that the sides had agreed to 5-to-7 years in state prison.

"She is basically throwing herself on the mercy of the court," Coffey said.

Coffey, though, threatened to appeal the case if McGrath's sentence is too harsh. Because Hastings pled to the entire indictment, she was not required to enter a waiver of appeal.

"There is going to be a prison sentence, I can promise you that," McGrath said to Hastings.

Trooper Michael Anson, the school's resource officer, said in statements on file with the court that he saw Hastings pick up the boy at school one day in October 2007 and drive off the campus. He began investigating and later spoke to Hastings, who claimed she was the boy's older sister.

Investigators then got statements from the boy, leading to Hastings' arrest. She is not related to the victim, police said.

Hastings was indicted on felony charges of second-degree rape and criminal sex act and misdemeanor charges of endangering the welfare of a child and third-degree sexual abuse.

She has since quit her $52,426-a-year job as a court-assigned counselor.

Hastings is free on $20,000 bail pending sentencing in December.