A Cayuga County man faces as much as 67 years in prison after being convicted Friday of sexually abusing young boys.
A jury found Emmet Baker, 60, of 526 Cemetery Road, Locke, guilty of seven felonies for having sexual contact with four boys who were between 7 and 10 years old at the time of the crimes.
Jurors deliberated for about four hours Friday before deciding that Baker was guilty of one count of first-degree course of sexual conduct against a child and six counts of first-degree sexual abuse.
About an hour's worth of testimony was read back to the jury late Friday afternoon after jurors requested to hear the complete testimony of three witnesses and the partial testimony of two others.
Cayuga County District Attorney Jon Budelmann said that judge Thomas Leone will now have to decide whether to sentence Baker to consecutive or concurrent prison terms. If all the sentences are served at the same time, it could mean a 25-year term, Budelmann said, but consecutive sentences could stretch Baker's incarceration out to 67 years.
“I'm going to ask for consecutive sentences,” Budelmann said, noting that Baker was convicted more than 20 years ago of abusing a 12-year-old boy.
“He's been praying on kids for at least 20 years,” Budelmann said. “I'm going to ask the judge to make sure it never happens again.”
The boys testified in court earlier in the week that Baker touched them inappropriately and also made them touch him as they sat on his couch playing video games or watching movies.
During the trial, Baker testified that he was a friend of the boys' families and that the children would sometimes stay at his house overnight. But he said that a bad back and a bad knee limit his mobility and prevented him from sitting on the couch with the boys.
Budelmann had said earlier in the week that the case would come down to whether or not the jurors believed the testimony of the boys. On Friday, he said that's exactly what happened.
“In these kinds of cases it comes down to the word of the child against the word of the defendant,” he said. “These boys were all brave, and they told the truth, and the jury believed them.”
Baker's attorney, Sam Tamburo, could not be reached for comment Friday night.
Baker was remanded to the Cayuga County Jail, where he will be held until his scheduled sentencing at 8 a.m. Thursday, July 17.
Jurors deliberated for about four hours Friday before deciding that Baker was guilty of one count of first-degree course of sexual conduct against a child and six counts of first-degree sexual abuse.
About an hour's worth of testimony was read back to the jury late Friday afternoon after jurors requested to hear the complete testimony of three witnesses and the partial testimony of two others.
Cayuga County District Attorney Jon Budelmann said that judge Thomas Leone will now have to decide whether to sentence Baker to consecutive or concurrent prison terms. If all the sentences are served at the same time, it could mean a 25-year term, Budelmann said, but consecutive sentences could stretch Baker's incarceration out to 67 years.
“I'm going to ask for consecutive sentences,” Budelmann said, noting that Baker was convicted more than 20 years ago of abusing a 12-year-old boy.
“He's been praying on kids for at least 20 years,” Budelmann said. “I'm going to ask the judge to make sure it never happens again.”
The boys testified in court earlier in the week that Baker touched them inappropriately and also made them touch him as they sat on his couch playing video games or watching movies.
During the trial, Baker testified that he was a friend of the boys' families and that the children would sometimes stay at his house overnight. But he said that a bad back and a bad knee limit his mobility and prevented him from sitting on the couch with the boys.
Budelmann had said earlier in the week that the case would come down to whether or not the jurors believed the testimony of the boys. On Friday, he said that's exactly what happened.
“In these kinds of cases it comes down to the word of the child against the word of the defendant,” he said. “These boys were all brave, and they told the truth, and the jury believed them.”
Baker's attorney, Sam Tamburo, could not be reached for comment Friday night.
Baker was remanded to the Cayuga County Jail, where he will be held until his scheduled sentencing at 8 a.m. Thursday, July 17.
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