NORWICH – A man was found guilty of violating his probation Monday after counselors claimed he refused to accept responsibility for his crime in a sex offender treatment program.
James A. Vitarius, 62, pleaded guilty to endangering the welfare of a child on April 2, admitting he asked an underage girl to expose herself to him.
Though the misdemeanor conviction is not a sex crime, prosecutors claim it was sexually motivated and part of the plea agreement required Vitarius to follow the direction of Chenango County Mental Health, which ordered him to complete two sex offender treatment programs. The plea did not require Vitarius to register as a sex offender.
Public Defender Alan Gordon said the accusations against his client involved an incident that took place almost a decade before he was arrested, between December of 2000 and the spring of 2001.
Prosecutors originally indicted Vitarius for seven additional felony sex crimes, but the charges were not pursued as part of the plea arrangement.
Gordon said the removal of such serious charges and the resulting plea to the indictment’s lowest, non-felony, non-sex crime charge, implied a weak case against his client.
“Of all the serious allegations my client has endured, his only guilt has been to ask a underage girl to show him her breasts eight years ago; that’s it,” said Gordon.
Mental Health Counselor Karen Perkins testified Vitarius was charged with violating his probation after he refused to complete certain tasks assigned to him during his counseling, such as writing an apology letter to the victim.
She told District Attorney Joseph McBride that denial was a common trait among offenders and they’d attempted to support Vitarius during his counseling but gave up.
She described Vitarius as being in denial, claiming her never admitted to asking the victim to expose herself.
Perkins also admitted on the stand that beyond seeking Vitarius’ admittance on the crime he pleaded guilty to, the counseling group also desired him to admit additional aspects of abuse he was never convicted of.
“Is it correct to say you expect him to admit what the complaint said and not what he actually pleaded guilty to?” asked Gordon, to which Perkins replied, “Yes.”
Gordon said Vitarius had attended all the scheduled meetings for the groups over a two-month period and had completed all but two homework assignments, both requiring he admit his crime or additional allegations.
Judge W. Howard Sullivan made a ruling from the bench following the hearing, declaring Vitarius guilty of the violation of parole. The judge said because evidence before the court implied no admittance, even in relation to his conviction, he was guilty of failing to comply with his probation.
Gordon said Vitarius may be ejected from his probation and given up to a year in local jail. Vitarius was released following the ruling and will appear in court at a later date.