Selden man convicted of child sex abuse

BY ERIK GERMAN
August 22, 2008

The morning after they were molested, two girls huddled in the bathroom of their abuser's home, Suffolk prosecutors said, and made a pinkie promise to one day to tell authorities what had happened to them.

A decade later, a Suffolk jury convicted the Selden man, Thomas Green, 61, of charges that he forced one of the girls to perform oral sex on him, and attempted to perform oral sex on the other child before she kicked him away.

Jurors yesterday convicted Green of seven out of 10 counts in an indictment that detailed a pattern of sex crimes between 1998 and 2003. They found him guilty of sexually abusing three girls in his neighborhood, all of them younger than 11 years old.

The children called him "Grandpa," prosecutors said, and he was so generous with treats that the neighborhood ice cream truck pulled into his driveway whenever it came by. Prosecutors said Green enticed the girls with gifts, inviting them for outings and sleepovers, where he sexually touched the children or forced them to touch him.

Green was acquitted of charges that he abused two other girls younger than 11 years old during the same time. He faces a maximum of 25 years in prison for the top charge, first-degree criminal sexual act.

Several jurors said they acquitted on the allegations of two of the children only because some of the details in those cases were not corroborated.

"We believed them," juror Allison Scanlon, 41, said of all the girls.

Prosecutor Dana Brown called the outcome a "huge" win in a case with no DNA evidence whose result hinged on the word of the accusers, now teenagers. "The verdict validates the girls," Brown said. "And that's the biggest piece of justice of all."

When Green heard the verdict, the trim, silver-haired grandfather looked down and drew a shaken breath. The judge ordered Green held without bail until his Oct. 2 sentencing. Handcuffed, Green glanced at his family before court officers led him to jail.

Outside court, the mother of two accusers professed relief and vindication. "He's finally getting his," said the 43-year-old teacher, as she clutched a silver pendant at her neck. "He can't do this to any more children."

Newsday is naming neither the parents nor the victims due to the nature of the crimes.

Perhaps the most vindicated party of all was the ponytailed girl - now 17 years old, her arms linked with fellow victims outside court - who saw her pinkie-sealed promise come true.

"For everyone who didn't believe us, there you go," she said.

Green's lawyer yesterday insisted he still didn't believe the girls, who he said banded together to put his client in jail after a friend of theirs failed to make earlier sex abuse allegations stick in 2004.

That year, Suffolk County Court Judge Gary Weber acquitted Green on charges that he abused the 5-year-old daughter of a former girlfriend. The case sparked controversy when some of Weber's critics claimed the judge fell asleep during the testimony of the victim, then 15.

Paul Gianelli - who was Green's lawyer in both cases - said this time around, a close friend of the 2004 girl marshaled a group of friends to make false accusations. Gianelli said he couldn't raise this issue at trial for fear of turning jurors against Green. He said he plans to appeal.

For one girl, the experience of seeking justice seemed to have left a lasting impression.

After she hugged Brown, the girl whose promise came true paused and asked the prosecutor, "What's the name of a good law school?"

A 'PINKIE PROMISE'

On the witness stand, one of Thomas Green's victims

described discussing the sexual abuse with another of his victims:

"I told her, when we get older and are ready to face this, that we were going to tell. ... We made a pinkie promise to tell."

Advice for children

Experts advise that there are things children should do if they're the victim of a sex crime:

1 - Tell a parent.

2 - If the parent is the cause, tell another adult, like a teacher.

3 - If the adult you tell does not believe you, keep telling others until somebody does believe you.

4 - Call - day or night - Parents for Megan's Law in Stony Brook at 631-689-2672; The Victims Information Bureau of Suffolk at 631-360-3606; and, of course, 911.

Laura Ahearn's organization, Parents for Megan's Law, offers programs in school districts for children from preschool through teenage years that teach them what they can do to try to protect themselves, and what to do if they become victims.

"They should tell and keep telling until somebody listens," Ahearn said. "And if anybody calls us, they're going to be believed." - Bill Mason

By ERIK GERMAN
Posted Monday, September 15, 2008

 E-mail this page
 Printer-friendly page