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NEW! MEDIA A Superior Court jury deliberated about three and a half hours over two days before finding Victor Cruz, 34, not guilty of four counts of fourth-degree sexual assault, five counts of risk of injury to a minor, and one count of third-degree sexual assault. The verdict was announced last Thursday. Cruz had been jailed in lieu of bond since last Aug. 8 while awaiting trial. "The jury properly analyzed the evidence and lack of evidence and arrived at the appropriate verdict," said Frank Riccio Jr., the lawyer representing Cruz. During the three-day trial, Cruz was accused of sexually assaulting two girls on numerous occasions between 1999 and 2004, when the girls were between 7 and 10 years old. The assaults allegedly occurred at his home and in a car while he was driving the girls to get ice cream. Taking the stand in his own defense, Cruz adamantly denied assaulting the girls.
NEWSPAPER
CONNECTICUT POST (5/6/09)
Bridgeport man cleared of child-sex charges
BRIDGEPORT -- A city man has been acquitted of charges that he sexually assaulted two young girls.
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WTNH CONNECTICUT (2/4/09)
POLICE RAIDS, MAN SHOT IN BRIDGEPORT - story by Annie Rourke - Bridgeport (WTNH) - Police geared up and went after drug suspects in a massive sweep on the streets of Bridgeport, where police say one suspect was unintentionally shot during the raid.
NEWSPAPERS
CONNECTICUT POST (2/19/09)
MAN GRANTED SPECIAL PROBATION - by Daniel Tepfer - BRIDGEPORT -- A man charged last November with using a camera phone to take a photo under a woman's skirt in a Fairfield bookstore last summer was granted special probation Wednesday.
Superior Court Judge Bruce Levin granted accelerated rehabilitation for N.B., of Trumbull. He was charged with three counts of breach of peace and two counts of impairing the morals of a minor. Under accelerated rehabilitation, Mr. B. did not admit his guilt, but was placed on one year of probation by the judge. If he commits no other crime during that period, the original charges against him will be dismissed. Levin also ordered Mr. B. to do 35 hours of community service and have no further contact with the victim.
"All things considered this is the appropriate disposition for Mr. B.," his lawyer, Frank Riccio Jr., said later. "He can continue to pursue his electrical career without any further incidents." During the hearing Riccio presented the judge with a written evaluation of his client by Dr. Andrew Kass of the Sterling Center in Shelton. The report concluded that B. does not have the characteristics of a sex offender. "Dr. Kass found the incident was a one-of-a-kind aberrant act," Riccio said.
http://cc.msnscache.com/cache.aspx?q=connecticut+post+frank+riccio&d=75611552287401&mkt=en-US&setlang=en-US&w=6fe40e1d,c26bdc79
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SPORTS ILLUSTRATED / CNN
(www.si.com) (2/12/09)
FORMER ALL STAR OFFERMAN SUED IN MINOR LEAGUE BAT ATTACK - by the Associated Press - NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) -- Former All-Star Jose Offerman was sued Thursday in a bat-wielding attack at a minor league game that injured two opposing players.
Bridgeport Bluefish catcher John Nathans filed the suit in U.S. District Court in Bridgeport, seeking $4.8 million in damages. He says the attack left him with permanent, career-ending injuries.
Offerman was batting for the Long Island Ducks against the Bluefish in Bridgeport on Aug. 14, 2007, when pitcher Matt Beech hit him with a fastball. Offerman charged the mound with his bat and swung at least twice, striking Beech and Nathans.
An All-Star infielder with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1995 and Boston Red Sox in 1999, Offerman had faced up to 10 years in prison on two felony assault charges. He was granted probation in 2007, ordered to get anger management treatment and pay the medical expenses of Beech and Nathans.
Nathans said he was hit in the head with Offerman's bat, causing a brain concussion, inner ear damage, vertigo, headaches and post-concussion syndrome.
"I have tons of headaches every day, vomiting every week," Nathan said. There's not a day that I don't have symptoms. There's days I'm completely debilitated."
Offerman's lawyer, Frank Riccio Jr., said he hasn't seen the lawsuit. "All options will be weighed at the time we receive the suit," he said.
