A two-time Amsterdam sex offender was sentenced Friday to 10 years in state prison in connection with his second child molestation conviction.
David Santana, 39, appeared in Montgomery County Court Friday after being convicted in February of committing a sex act with a 13-year-old child.
Santana continued to deny the allegations Friday. He admitted his prior conviction, but said he had righted himself. He also referenced his military service in Iraq, coming home in 2006 with post-traumatic stress disorder.
He told Judge Felix Catena he would never do what he was accused of doing. He also asked the judge after a lengthy statement to “please have mercy for my family.”
Catena made it a point to commend Santana for his military service. But the judge said the proof presented at trial led the jury to conclude that Santana was guilty of felony second-degree criminal sex act and two misdemeanors.
“The jury didn’t agree with you,” Catena told Santana. “They found you guilty of those offenses.”
The judge also emphasized that it wasn’t Santana’s first conviction.
The jury deliberated for about four hours before convicting Santana. He faced up to 15 years in prison.
In July 2008, he was arrested by state police for having sex with a 14-year-old. He pleaded guilty later that year to one count of third-degree rape, a felony, and was sentenced to three years in prison. His sentence was completed in 2011.
At the time of the 2008 incident, Santana had a leadership role in a local unit of the U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps. The 2008 case was not connected to his position there, and the group cut its ties to him after that arrest.
Assistant District Attorney Sarah Leszczynski, who prosecuted the case, said Santana came out of earlier prison stint with a support system around him.
“He took that opportunity to reoffend,” Leszczynski said.
She also said that Santana took the victim’s innocence.
Santana was represented in court by his attorney Stephen L. Rockmacher. Also in court was his wife.
Rockmacher noted Santana’s certified health issues related to his military service. He also asked for a lesser sentence.
Sanatana appeared to question how the jury could have found him guilty.
“This country is the greatest of all and I know that at the end of all this, justice will prevail,” Santana said. “Thank you for your time. I will do whatever it takes to fix my errors in life. That will be my mission and this time I won’t fail.”
Santana was listed on the state sex offender registry as a result of the 2008 case as a Level 1 offender, the lowest risk to re-offend. His risk level is expected to be reassessed at the conclusion of his latest sentence.
Categories: -News-, Schenectady County
