Ex-Utica NY Firefighter Sentenced over Lewd Act

Former Utica firefighter Richard Forte was sentenced on Monday after being found guilty on all charges related to a January 2018 incident in which he ejaculated on pants owned by a female firefighter.

Forte was sentenced to 60 days in the Oneida County Jail and he will have to pay a $250 surcharge. A protective order will be issued for the victim.

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Forte was found guilty of making a punishable false statement, fourth-degree criminal mischief and third-degree criminal tampering during a September bench trial.

During the trial, the female firefighter said she found her pants soiled at the end of her shift at the firehouse and took them home before contacting police. A forensic scientist found the DNA of the ejaculate to be a match to Forte.

Forte's attorney, Christopher Pelli, accused the female firefighter of taking semen from a unisex bathroom and putting it on the pants. During her testimony, the woman denied the accusations.

Judge F. Christopher Giruzzi, who oversaw the trial, had strong words for Forte as he delivered his sentence.

"You have disgraced yourself as a firefighter, you have discredited yourself as a member of this community and you have diminished yourself as a man," Giruzzi said. "Your misconduct is incomprehensible."

Assistant District Attorney Rebecca Kelleher and the victim petitioned for jail time for Forte prior to sentencing.

"There needs to be a consequence to the defendant's actions and the only consequence that is appropriate for this defendant, and the community at large, is the sentence of incarceration," Kelleher said.

Forte's attorney, Christopher Pelli, emphasized Forte's time as a U.S. Marine with an honorable discharge and a firefighter for 18 years in defense of his character. Pelli told an anecdote of a time when he worked with Forte more than 30 years ago at an auto body repair shop.

"I remember him to be funny and generous and in general, a very decent type of person," he said.

Pelli also cited a traumatic brain injury Forte suffered, which he said could affect his impulse control, purposeful behavior and anticipation of consequences.

Forte is required to turn himself in for his jail sentence on Jan. 7. Pelli said he prepared the paperwork for an appeal, during Monday's sentencing.

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