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August 12, 2007

Former youth-program volunteer pleads guilty to abusing boy

By ANDREA VanVALKENBURG

PLATTSBURGH "" A Champlain man has pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a young boy he met while volunteering for a local National Guard youth program.

Donald McCarthy Jr. faced several charges after his February arrest for persuading a 12-year-old boy to engage in sexual acts while he filmed himself and the now 13-year-old in his former Route 9 apartment last summer.

According to the Clinton County District Attorney's Office, McCarthy returned to court Thursday with his attorney, Marcia Moss, and pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree criminal sexual act and two counts of promoting a sexual performance by a child, all felonies.

The former WPTZ employee also pleaded guilty to possessing an obscene sexual performance by a child in connection with the hundreds of inappropriate images that State Police recovered from his personal computer.

The 38-year-old was accused of touching, masturbating and performing oral sex on or in front of the victim while he filmed the encounter.

At the time of the abuse, McCarthy was a citizen volunteer for the National Guard Corps of Cadets program at the Morrisonville armory, where State Police said he befriended the teen.

He has been suspended from the program since his arrest pending the outcome of the criminal case and the allegations against him.

Under the negotiated plea, McCarthy agreed to the maximum sentence on the charges and will likely be sentenced to an indeterminate six-to 18-year prison term when he returns to court before Judge Kevin Ryan on Oct. 30.

Based on the charges, McCarthy will be required to register with the New York State Sex Offender Registry.

His case was prosecuted by Chief Assistant District Attorney Kristy Sprague.

avanvalkenburg@pressrepublican.com

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