BUFFALO, N.Y. — Steve Pigeon, the former Erie County Democratic Party Chairman, was sentenced to 364 days in jail for sexually abusing a child more than seven years ago.
The 63-year-old disgraced politician pleaded guilty last month to one count of Sexual Abuse in the First Degree, a class D violent felony, and was sentenced this morning.
The crime took place in 2016, according to Erie County Prosecutor John Flynn. The unidentified victim was less than 11 years old and a person known to Pigeon, according to prosecutors.
During Pigeon's sentencing, prosecutors read a statement from the victim, who was a child at the time of the crime, "He took away practically my whole childhood...I wish that Gerald Steven Pigeon would spend the rest of his life in prison for what he did to me, but we don't always get exactly what we want."
State Supreme Court Justice William Boller accepted a plea deal approved by the victim's family, which DA Flynn said had been requested to spare the victim from having to testify at trial.
Pigeon's victim wrote, "The stress of a trial that we almost had was practically debilitating."
Pigeon will be required to register as a sex offender after his release from jail. A final order of protection has been issued for the victim and the victim's mother, which will remain in effect until December 2031.
The victim wrote, "The day I found out what had actually happened to me, I remember feeling so disgusted and scared. I wanted to go tell my mom, but I remember Steve saying that if I told anyone, he would hurt my mother."
Pigeon declined to address the court prior to sentencing.
"In this case right here, the victim mainly wanted the defendant just to come into an open courtroom in public himself and admit what he did," Flynn told reporters.