UTICA, NY—Former Utica firefighter Richard Forte was found guilty Wednesday in Utica City Court on all charges surrounding an alleged incident from January 2018 in which he ejaculated on a pair of pants owned by a female firefighter.
Forte was found guilty following a bench trial in front of Judge F. Christopher Giruzzi of making a punishable false statement, fourth-degree criminal mischief and third-degree criminal tampering.
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Forte's attorney Christopher Pelli argued there was no conclusive evidence the ejaculate had not been placed on the pants, which the female firefighter was not wearing at the time, and said that the stain had not permanently damaged the pants to lead to a charge of criminal mischief.
"It's not a stain that can be washed away, said Assistant District Attorney Rebecca Kelleher, in a later argument. She also said that nothing could prove that the ejaculate had been placed on the pants by anyone other than Forte.
"The singular act speaks volumes," she later said. "It tells us 'You are not welcome here and you never will be.'"
The Observer-Dispatch is not publishing the name of the female firefighter at this time.
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