student
By BILL HUGHES
THE JOURNAL NEWS
(Original publication: November 22, 2005)
WHITE PLAINS — The former Bronxville High School teacher accused of using the Internet in an attempt to lure one of his former students into a
sexual tryst was convicted of all charges yesterday after less than one full day of deliberations.
Paul Wicht, 45, of Stamford, Conn., was the first defendant charged by Westchester County District Attorney Jeanine Pirro's High-Tech Crimes
Bureau to challenge the charges against him at trial. Wicht's lawyer, James Lenihan, vowed to appeal the conviction and called the case a
dangerous precedent.
"What the people of Westchester County don't understand yet is that this jury has just given the DA the authority to prosecute people for what
they think," Lenihan said. "The DA was called in not to investigate a crime that occurred, but to instigate one."
Wicht was arrested in May of last year when he arrived at what he thought was going to be a sexual liaison with a 15-year-old girl but turned out
to be a sting operation set up by district attorney investigators. Wicht, who is married and has a teenage daughter, first met the girl when he was
her teacher at Byram Hills High School in 2003.
The former student contacted Wicht via the Internet after he left, but broke off the correspondence after he wrote to her that he had fallen in love
with her. Wicht did not write back to her until, under coaching from investigators, the girl wrote back to him.
Afterward, investigators completely took over the conversation, during which Wicht engaged in sexually explicit discussions on three occasions.
When he was arrested at the supposed meeting, investigators found condoms, lubricant and a mixed compact disc of love songs in his car.
Lenihan argued that Wicht never wrote anything sexual to the girl, only to investigators bent on entrapping him.
"Obviously the jury didn't buy that," Assistant District Attorney Kenneth Citarella said.
Wicht's bail was raised yesterday from $30,000 to $75,000 by state Supreme Court Justice Lester Adler after his conviction. He now faces a
maximum of four years on each of three counts of attempted dissemination of indecent material to a minor.
Wicht, who was fired by the Bronxville school system in July, will be sentenced Feb. 16.
http://www.thejournalnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051122/NEWS02/511220356/1018
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Guv'mint
Skoolin'
"DUHMAG.COM"
2005
