By Mark Boshnack
DELHI _ Sentencing was completed Thursday in Delaware County Court for a former Franklin Central School substitute teacher's aide who admitted to having sex with students and attempting sexual contact with others.
No jail time was added to a previous sentence for Robert R. Becker Jr., 37, of Franklin, said Delaware County District Attorney Richard Northrup Jr.
Instead, Judge Donald Cerio sentenced Becker to 10 years' probation on third-degree rape and a one-year conditional discharge each for endangering the welfare of a child and attempted sexual abuse.
Each charge will be served alongside a sentence of two concurrent terms of four years in prison and 10 years' post-release supervision, handed down in the case earlier this month, Northrup said.
On Jan. 15, Becker pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree sexual abuse in a plea deal.
Becker did not speak on his behalf before sentencing, but the mother of one of the victims did.
There were five student victims from Becker's actions, Northrup said. Three were at the sentencing, along with about 25 supporters, including Franklin Superintendent Gordon Daniels and Principal Jason Thomson.
The Daily Star does not identify victims of sexual crimes.
The mother read from a prepared statement. The approximately 10 family members and supporters of Becker walked out of the courtroom before she began, returning afterward. A family member later refused to comment on the case.
"None of the victims will forget what you've done," the mother said, but "they will move on.
"You took advantage" of the girls and "the families who trusted you," she continued.
The mother said she was satisfied with the sentence, but "I hope you will take responsibility for what you have done. Shame on you for hurting everyone around you."
Because of the response from school officials and others when they learned what happened, the victims "found the inner strength to go on," she said.
After the verdict, one of the victims said, "I'm glad it's over."
The victim added that while Becker's time in prison is limited, she and the others will have to deal with the effects of the abuse for the rest of the their lives.
While the sentence could never be long enough, she said, she was glad Becker would be serving four years in state prison, not the one year initially agreed to in the plea deal.
After Becker did not cooperate with the probation office and lied about the details of the crime, according to court officials, Northrup successfully argued in court that the sentence be extended.
In sentencing Becker, Cerio called his actions "reprehensible."
There was no way to quantify how much the victims and their families were harmed, Cerio said, but that is not something that is covered under existing penal law.
