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Ex-NYPD cop pleads guilty in Rockland child-sex case

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Steve Lieberman

The Journal News

A former New York City police sergeant accused of preying on an orphaned boy pleaded guilty yesterday to a reduced charge of trying to have oral sex with him.

Jaime Katz, 39, of Nanuet faces five years in prison when sentenced March 23 by Rockland County Judge Victor Alfieri for first-degree attempted sodomy involving the 12-year-old boy.

Katz resigned from the police force Tuesday, his lawyer confirmed yesterday after his client entered his plea inside the County Courthouse in New City.

Katz had been an officer for 10 years and was the former head of the Gay Officers Action League, an advocacy group for law enforcement officers.

He still faces similar sex abuse charges involving the same person in Manhattan and is expected to plead guilty in New York City on Feb. 10.

Katz and his lawyer, James Culleton, said in court that his potential sentence in Manhattan was expected to be a maximum of five years and run concurrently with the Rockland sentence.

Katz's relationship with the victim came under investigation by New York City police several years ago and later by the Clarkstown Police Department and the Rockland District Attorney's Office.

The victim, now 18, and his older brother were adopted by a Katz relative after their mother died.

Last year, a 31-count Rockland grand jury indictment accused Katz of sexually abusing the boy for six years. Katz was accused of having sex with the boy at the boy's Manhattan apartment, inside Katz's car, at the Bergen County, N.J., home of the victim's sister, at Katz's mother's home at 21 Norwood Place in Nanuet and at various locations during family vacations.

Standing with his lawyer, Katz admitted that on Feb. 14, 2003, he attempted to have oral sex at the Norwood Place house with the boy.

His trial was to start yesterday, Alfieri said.

When Katz prefaced his answers in court yesterday with "to the best of my recollection," Senior Assistant District Attorney Dominic Crispino told him that was not good enough.

Crispino told Katz he must answer in the affirmative, if he was pleading guilty.

Katz then answered, "Yes," to trying to have oral sex with the boy.

Prosecutors said they approved the plea agreement to the lesser felony charge to spare the young man from having to testify in court. Alfieri approved the plea.

Under the deal, Katz will spend five years in prison, 10 years under supervised release and at least 20 years on the New York State Sex Offender Registry, requiring him to report his address to police. He had faced five to 25 years in prison on the indictment's top count of first-degree sodomy.

"We feel this is an appropriate sentence, and it means the victim doesn't have to testify," Crispino said after the sentencing. He said that sparing a victim, especially a child, from reliving the horrors of being sexually abused was always a priority for the prosecution.

"The kid has gone through a lot with this guy," Crispino said, "and it would be torture for him and his family to have to go through this again."

As part of the plea agreement, Katz signed a waiver giving up his right to appeal.

Alfieri also warned Katz that when he's about to be released from prison, the state could move to keep him confined or he could be ordered to undergo extensive treatment while on parole.

If he's classified as a high-risk offender, he could spend his entire life on the registry.

Katz will remain free on $500,000 bond until Feb. 17, a week after his court appearance in Manhattan. He surrendered his weapons to the New York Police Department, and Alfieri ordered him to turn in his passport.

The victim's older brother appeared in court yesterday. He declined to comment after the hearing.

Crispino said the brother - and possibly the victim - could speak at Katz's March sentencing.

Katz hugged his mother after pleading guilty. Before they left the courtroom, Katz and his family remained silent when asked to comment.

The investigation into Katz's actions began in Manhattan after he befriended the boy, whose late mother worked with AIDS patients. She knew Katz.

Clarkstown police picked up the investigation with the District Attorney's Office.

After the indictment, District Attorney Thomas Zugibe said Katz was a "sexual predator" and vowed to vigorously prosecute Katz.

Clarkstown Detective Sgt. Christopher Goodyear, who oversees the Juvenile Aide Bureau, credited Detectives Rob McDonald and Fred Parent.

"They were dealing with someone who knew the system," Goodyear said of Katz. "It's never easy for a police officer to go after another police officer. You look after the interests of the child first."

Reach Steve Lieberman at slieberm@lohud.com or at 845-578-2443.

lohud.com
2009 Jan 29