BishopAccountability.org
	Former Assistant District Attorney Sentenced to House Arrest By Bob Keeler News-Herald March 11, 2009 http://www.montgomerynews.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=20277637&BRD=1306&PAG=461&dept_id=187826&rfi=6 Former Bucks County assistant district attorney and First United Methodist Church of Perkasie youth group leader Anthony Cappuccio will serve three to 23 months under house arrest after pleading guilty March 10 to having had a homosexual affair with one of the youth group members and supplying alcohol or smoking marijuana with that youth and two others. The 17-year-old youth with whom Cappuccio, 32, had the affair, was not present for the sentencing, but a victim impact statement by him was read. In the statement, the youth wrote his relationship with Cappuccio resulted in mixed feelings and confusion. "Hopefull, today will be the day it ends," he wrote. "There were a lot of good things, but a lot of bad as well," he wrote. Cappuccio, the youth wrote, made him feel safe and secure. "I felt loved," wrote the youth. Cappuccio, however, also pointed out others on the street to whom he was attracted and made no signs of leaving his wife and children, "Victim 1" wrote. "He told me he loved me, but did he?" the youth wrote. "He told me he wanted to have a future with me, but did he?" Stefanie Matsinger Dockery, who read the youth's statement and who replaced Cappuccio as the church youth group leader, said she initially thought he was a trusted ally, but his actions have taken away people's trust. "Anthony, you and I both know Victim 1 isn't the only one," Dockery said. "To all those I've hurt, I'm sorry," Cappuccio said, breaking down several times as he gave his statement. "You looked up to me," Cappuccio said in a statement directed at the youth. "You confided in me and I let you down." He also apologized to the parents of the youths, former colleagues in the district attorney's office, church and youth group members, his family, the community and victims or investigators in cases that were interrupted by his arrest and subsequent resignation. "I was supposed to represent their interests, not my own," Cappuccio said. "I hope that today is an end for those that need it to be. I'm truly sorry to everyone," Cappuccio said. Defense attorney Louis Busico said Cappuccio is not dangerous or a devious predator. Cappuccio and the youth had an "age-inappropriate" relationship, Busico said, "but they did fall in love." Cappuccio pleaded guilty and confessed to the crimes, Busico said. "After doing the wrong thing, he's done everything to make this a better situation," Busico said, asking that Cappuccio be put on probation. Prosecutor E. Marc Costanzo, a senior deputy state attorney general, though, said jail time was warranted. Even after Cappuccio's arrest, the relationship with the teens continued, Costanzo said. "He was still calling them on the phone. He was still text messaging," Costanzo said, "and he would use one to get to the other." When Cappuccio's wife found out about the relationship, the couple began to get counseling, but Cappuccio continued the relationship and even left his wife vacationing at the shore as they awaited the birth of their second child so Cappuccio could return home early to have sex with the youth, Costanzo said. "What concerns me is we have someone who's not able to control himself and who's not able to control himself with boys under 18," Costanzo said. Cappuccio had known the youths involved from the time they were 14, Costanzo said, leading up to the later relationship. "They say there's no grooming," Costanzo said. "This is a classic grooming situation." The case is not about sexual orientation or homosexuality, he said, and would have been the same if Cappuccio had an affair with a teenage girl. Having prosecuted drunk driving cases, Cappuccio was also well aware of the dangers of drinking and driving, but provided alcohol for the teens and smoked marijuana with them knowing they would be driving afterwards, and from as far away as New Jersey, Costanzo said. The case came to light when Cappuccio and the youth were found partially clothed in a parked car in a Route 309 shopping center in Richland during September of 2008. Between May and September, the two had sex at least once a week, the youth told investigators. The length of the relationship showed it was not something that happened in a split-second decision, Costanzo said. "This is a course of conduct over weeks and months," he said. Because the relationship was consensual, there are no sexual crime charges, but Cappuccio was charged with and pleaded guilty to crimes including endangering the welfare of children, corrupting the morals of minors and selling or furnishing alcohol to minors. Costanzo said at sentencing that, although it may not have been legally classified as child pornography, Cappuccio also had sexually-provocative pictures on a computer of what appeared to be teenage boys. Bucks County Judge Theodore Fritsch Jr. said he had received several letters of support for Cappuccio, who was portrayed as a model son, brother, father, neighbor and friend who was hard-working and had been a comfort to victims of crime. Cappuccio's criminal actions, though, showed hypocritical behavior and "sent a very disturbing message," to the youths he had been trusted to help, Fritsch said. "Certainly, you did cause and encourage young people to engage in damaging behavior," Fritsch told Cappuccio. Along with the three to 23 months of house arrest, Fritsch sentenced Cappuccio to seven years probation and 200 hours of community service. The community service cannot be in a position involving contact with children and Cappuccio cannot have contact with any of the members of the youth group he once led, Fritsch said. Cappuccio was also told to get psychotherapy. Cappuccio would be eligible for work release, Fritsch said. Busico said Cappuccio is now working as a waiter. Cappuccio lived in Hilltown at the time of the incidents. He and his wife have since separated, according to information given outside the courtroom. Following the sentencing, Busico said he was satisfied with it. Costanzo said it technically falls within state guidelines, but parents of the teens had been looking for a sentence that included jail time. Although there was no mention of it in court, Costanzo said, there were concerns raised in letters to the court about the dangers of jail for a former prosecutor.
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