TROY — A former Washington County town police chief whose
50-year prison term for rape was thrown out by a higher court because of
prosecutorial misconduct is now a Level 1 sex offender.
Thomas Levandowski appeared before Judge Robert Jacon for a
hearing Wednesday on what sex offender level he will be assigned and was given
the lowest level for those deemed least likely to re-offend. He is eligible for
parole in February 2014.
Assistant District Attorney Michele Poole argued that the
former Cambridge police chief should be given the more stringent Level 2.
William Roberts, Levandowski's attorney, argued that Jacon's
ruling should reflect a state review board determination that Levandowski
should get Level 1 status. Level 1 offenders are not publicly listed.
Levandowski was convicted by a jury Aug. 23, 2002, of raping
a girl between September 1996 and June 2001 when she was between the ages of 10
and 15.
The Appellate Division of state Supreme Court threw out 38
of 43 counts and the sentence and ordered a new trial on the remaining charges.
The appellate justices cited several trial errors by the prosecutor, Patricia
DeAngelis. DeAngelis prosecuted the case before she became Rensselaer County
district attorney.
Levandowski, who also worked as a Hoosick Falls police
officer and Washington County sheriff's deputy, pleaded guilty in May 2004 as
the new trial date approached. He is serving a four- to 12-year sentence on
three counts of possessing Internet photos of a sexual performance of a child
under the age of 16. The photos were not of his original victim but came to
light during the investigation of that case. He also pleaded guilty to
endangering the welfare of a child and four counts of criminal contempt
regarding his original victim, charges the higher court left intact. Those
counts deal with Levandowski grabbing the girl by the arm and going to her
school four times in violation of an order of protection to stay away from her.
The appellate justices faulted DeAngelis for repeatedly
questioning a witness after the judge sustained objections by Levandowski's
lawyer.
The justices also found improper that family members and
friends of the victim as well as employees of the district attorney's office
had seated themselves up front by the jury wearing ribbons of support during
summations. The justices noted an instance in which DeAngelis had
cross-examined the girl's mother, who testified the girl fabricated her
accusations. DeAngelis said, ''The grand jury thought otherwise, didn't they?''
With the jury out of the courtroom, the judge ''severely reprimanded the
prosecutor for pursuing such a line of questioning,'' the justices wrote.
Levandowski's wife, Sharon Levandowski, was charged with
endangering for knowing about her husband's alleged abuse but doing nothing to
stop it. She also faced additional charges for threatening the girl to keep her
quiet and later pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of endangering and got
three years probation.