Ex-Liverpool teacher who struck teen 54 times told her to bend over and say 'harder'

[Teh One Who Knocks]

By Douglass Dowty - Syracuse.com


http://i.imgur.com/HFqRaOa.jpg

Liverpool, NY -- A lawyer who taught classes at Liverpool High School will be sentenced today for striking a former student more than 54 times with a ruler.

Thomas McCarthy, 53, of 602 Vine St., was found guilty by a jury of forcible touching in the June 3, 2013 incident at his law office, located inside his home.

McCarthy ordered the 17-year-old girl to bend over a desk and struck her with the ruler. The victim cried.

"He starts spanking my butt with the wooden ruler," the victim told police. "He asks me how many times he hit me. I told him I didn't know. He told me if I didn't count, the spanks didn't count."

He asked the victim to lift her shirt and spread her legs, according to police statements. The victim lifted her shirt only slightly and did not spread her legs.

McCarthy ordered her to say "harder," which she did.

McCarthy stopped after the victim counted 54 spanks. The victim went home and told her family.

The next day, McCarthy claimed to the victim that the incident was voluntary.

"He said he hadn't seen any tears," the victim told police. "I told him they were all over his desk."

The jury found that McCarthy struck the victim in her intimate parts for the purpose of gratifying McCarthy's sexual desire in an abusive and degrading fashion.

His comments during the episode and the physical position he ordered the victim to take pointed to its sexual nature, as did the way he struck the victim, prosecutor Melanie Carden has said.

In addition to being a lawyer, McCarthy taught social studies at the high school. He had hired the victim to work in his law office.

McCarthy resigned from his teaching post soon after the incident. He was originally sent to jail with bail set at $10,000 cash or $20,000 bond, but remains free pending today's sentencing.

He's facing up to a year in jail and will become a registered sex offender due to the victim's age, Carden said.

McCarthy has been a lawyer since 1991. He has no previous disciplinary record, according to the court system.

[HyperV12]

2013?? Man those courts are slow!

[Teh One Who Knocks]

By Douglass Dowty - Syracuse.com


http://i.imgur.com/xnJ1uLB.jpg

Liverpool, NY -- Liverpool lawyer Thomas McCarthy, who also taught high school social studies, will spend 60 days in jail and 6 years in probation for striking a former student more than 54 times with a ruler in his law office.

The victim said she felt "forcefully sexually violated" in 2013 when McCarthy ordered her to bend over his desk, spread her legs, raise her shirt and count the number of times he struck her. "He told me if I didn't count, the spanks didn't count," the victim later told police.

At one point, he told her to say "harder." She was 17 years old at the time.

"It disgusts me that this happened," wrote the victim, now a Syracuse University student, in a letter to the court. She noted that she'd spent her time at college as a witness in this case.

McCarthy, 54, was found guilty this June of misdemeanor forcible touching, punishable by up to a year in jail.

The victim thought of McCarthy as a mentor after having him as a high school social studies teacher, prosecutor Melanie Carden said in court today. The victim had always wanted to be a lawyer and he offered her a job in his office.

But on June 3, 2013, McCarthy locked her in his office and told her that she needed to be punished for mistakes she'd made.

McCarthy initially told police that the victim struck herself with the ruler before asking him to strike her. Later, McCarthy told a doctor that he had struck her, but she consented.

At a trial this June, McCarthy again blamed his victim, saying she wanted to be punished, the prosecutor said.

The victim described to police crying and telling him no. "He was three times my size and age," she said. "I was crying and counting out loud."

At sentencing today, McCarthy also called into question the victim's personal life, suggesting she wasn't a "real victim." But Judge Douglas DeMarche said that fell on deaf ears.

"You're trying to shift the blame onto the victim," he told McCarthy. "She clearly is a victim."

McCarthy also pointed to the positive impact he'd had as teacher and lawyer on "thousands" of lives. The judge acknowledged that McCarthy had helped many lives. But "sometimes (people) are defined by their bad moments," DeMarche said. "This moment has defined you."

DeMarche said he sentenced McCarthy to the split jail and probation sentence because it kept him under supervision for a longer period of time.

Had he sentenced McCarthy to jail, the longest punishment for a misdemeanor is 1 year under law. Given sentencing guidelines, McCarthy would have been freed in 8 months if he behaved, without further supervision.

"I don't see any remorse," the judge told McCarthy before announcing his sentence.

McCarthy also was rated a Level 1 sex offender, meaning he is considered the least likely to re-offend. His name will not appear in the public sex offender registry, which is reserved for Level 2 and 3 offenders.

He faces disciplinary action that could lead him to lose the law license. He resigned from his teaching post soon after the incident.

McCarthy left court today in handcuffs and was escorted to jail by deputies.

[deebakes]

:-k