Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Former Erie County Democratic Party Chair Steve Pigeon was sentenced Friday morning before State Supreme Court Justice M. William Boller to 364 days in jail for the Sexual Abuse of a Child under the age of 11-years-old back in 2016.
Pigeon will also be required to register as a sex offender upon his release from the Erie County Correctional Facility.
On a date between November 2016 and December 2016, the defendant subjected a child, who was less than 11-years-old, to sexual contact at a location in Erie County. The victim was known to the defendant, and was in fourth grade at the time.
On Nov 6, 2023, Pigeon pleaded guilty to one count of Sexual Abuse in the First Degree (Class "D" violent felony). The defendant pleaded guilty to the charge ahead of a jury trial that was scheduled to begin the following month.
"A lot of people say to me, 'Steve Pigeon's only getting a year?' That's a question I get all the time, and I understand that question, I understand the kind of shock that people have when they hear he only got a year sentence. But I think that if the folks out there who have asked me that question could have heard my lawyer's statement on behalf of the victim, they would understand why the victim did not want to testify," said Erie County District Attorney John Flynn following Friday's sentencing.
The victim and her family were on-hand in the courtroom on Friday for the sentencing, with the victim, now a teenager, having her attorneys read a statement on her behalf. She says the stress of a trial for this case would have been debilitating.
"A lot of victims in these child sexual assault cases do not want to come and publicly testify," Flynn said in support of the victim in this case. "It's in public, it's in a courtroom where anyone can come in, including the media, and can see the victim testify. And the victim, in this case, is still a child, she's a teenager. When this happened, obviously, she was much younger, but even a teenager, that's the last thing they want to do, and that's the last thing a mother or father wants to have their child do. So you want to adhere to the wishes of the family and the victim, but on the other hand, you want to bring that family and the victim justice. And the victim obviously wants justice too, so there's that tension there with that."
Flynn believes the victim was able to get the justice during Pigeon's guilty plea when he formally admitted to doing what he did.
"Then she wanted some jail time and he got a year. Obviously he was facing much more, but the fact that he is walking out right now, that courtroom downstairs, and going to jail right now, is, again, justice for the victim as well," Flynn said.
"And as long as the victim's satisfied, I'm satisfied. That's what happened today."
When offered a chance to address the victim and the family on Friday, Pigeon did not wish to speak, only telling Judge Boller, "Not today."
In addition to Friday's sentencing, a final order of protection was issued on behalf of the victim and the victim's mother, which remains in effect until December 2031.
