The former Niskayuna volunteer varsity softball coach who admitted in 2010 to raping one of his players will be classified a Level 2 sex offender upon his release from prison next month.
Joseph A. Annello III, formerly of Randall Road, appeared in Schenectady County Court on Wednesday morning before Judge Karen Drago for a hearing on his sex offender risk level status. Annello consented to the recommended risk level of a Level 2, the middle of the three levels.
He is set to be released March 4, according to the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision database. He is currently listed as being housed at the Gowanda Correctional Facility, a medium-security facility in Erie County.
Annello, now 48, pleaded guilty in April 2010 to one count of third-degree rape, a felony. In return for the plea, he was given two years in state prison.
Annello admitted at his plea that he raped the girl in June 2009 at his house. He was accused of plying her with Mike’s Hard Lemonade, an alcoholic drink, during at least one of five alleged incidents.
He had been a volunteer coach with the Niskayuna girls’ varsity softball team.
At his 2010 sentencing, Annello apologized for his actions.
Several factors go into the calculation for sex offender risk level. In Annello’s case, the age of the victim and his position of trust as a coach were among the factors that made him a Level 2 offender, prosecutor Christina Tremante-Pelham said.
Level 3 offenders are deemed as having the highest risk to reoffend, Level 1 the lowest.
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