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	Man Pleads Guilty to Sex Assaults on Three Boys By Michael Zeigler Democrat and Chronicle June 2, 2009 http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20090602/NEWS01/906020314/1002/NEWS Jose M. Diaz ingratiated himself with the parents of young boys by taking their sons hunting and shopping, playing video games and shooting an air rifle with them, and hosting sleepovers at his Rochester home. The parents socialized with Diaz and considered him to be trustworthy because he was a volunteer firefighter and active churchgoer who seemed genuinely interested in their kids. But just before last Christmas, the parents discovered that Diaz had been subjecting their sons to repeated sexual assaults. Diaz, 41, spoke softly and hesitantly Monday to state Supreme Court Justice Joseph D. Valentino as he admitted committing various sexual acts on three boys, who ranged in age from 6 to 13, from 1999 to 2006. His guilty pleas to the felonies of first-degree course of sexual conduct against a child and second-degree criminal sexual act and a misdemeanor of second-degree sexual abuse resolve allegations involving two more boys pending before a grand jury. Those boys were 11 and from 13 to 15 when Diaz abused them from 2006 to 2008, said Assistant District Attorney Kristina Karle. All of the abuse occurred at Diaz's home on Poplar Street. Diaz, who will receive a prison term of at least 20 years but no more than 27 years when he's sentenced June 30, represents a classic case of a predatory adult who carefully grooms parents to get at their children, Karle said. Diaz was a volunteer for Brighton Fire Department and a member of Faith Temple Church in Brighton. Although none of the abuse was connected to the fire department or the church, Diaz's association with both helped assure parents of his good intentions, Karle said. "These families feel betrayed because they trusted their sons with him," she said. "Ninety percent of kids who are sexually abused are abused by someone they know," she said. "We have to get rid of this notion we have of child molesters as being someone that we can pick out, because we can't." The assaults came to light when one of the boys told his family, who contacted the District Attorney's Office. Karle credited State Police Investigator Tracy Cass, who works in the Bivona Child Advocacy Center, with tracking down victims and getting a confession from Diaz. As a condition of his plea, Diaz agreed to waive his right to appeal. Although Diaz faced up to 50 years in prison if convicted after a trial, Karle said she accepted a lesser sentence to spare the boys the trauma of testifying and to guarantee a conviction. Although Karle said she'll ask Valentino to impose a prison term from 25 to 27 years, Assistant Public Defender Thomas Winward said he'll submit a presentence memorandum to the judge in which he'll advocate for the minimum of 20 years. Contact: mzeigler@democratandchronicle.com
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