CONESUS – Austin Pratt of Conesus, age 30, who was charged by State Police in January with felony 3rd degree rape and criminal sex act, as well as misdemeanor endangering the welfare of a minor, received additional charges when he appeared in court March 14. On that date, Pratt was charged by federal prosecutor James Kennedy with enticement of a minor and child pornography. The new charges carry a
minimum penalty of 15 years in prison, a maximum of 40 years, and a $250,000 fine.
Pratt, who formerly worked for Thompson Health as an athletic trainer at Geneseo Central School, was discovered in the relationship with the minor when the girl’s parents found texts on the girl’s phone. They called New York State Police who interviewed the girl in January. The texts between the two began as inquiries about an injury the girl had, and then led to nude photographs between the two on Instagram.
Some of the text messages between the defendant and the victim included:
“I seriously cannot stop thinking about you or wanting you. This is crazy to me for only knowing you for a few weeks and I’m not sure how to navigate these feelings as I’m obviously married and our age difference which plays a huge role in all this. I love talking to you and being around you and all I want is to be with you. I hate the fact that I am 16 years older than you and that we have to hide and be sneaky…”
The victim responded, “You get divorce papers and 20 years in jail.” Pratt responded, “Yuppppp… gotta be super sneaky.” Subsequently, according to the complaint, Pratt and the victim engaged in sexual intercourse on January 7, 2019, at the victim’s home.
Objecting to the judge’s decision to not hold Pratt in jail, Prosecutor Melissa Marangola said, “He abused his position of power in the school district…the fact that he went to this victim’s home while she was home sick from school shows that he has a blatant disregard of
judgment, and that’s incredibly concerning to the government.” Although the judge released Pratt on bail, he ordered him confined to his home with an ankle bracelet. According to the judge, any violation would result in Pratt being placed in jail immediately.
The federal case is being handled by assistant U.S. Attorney Melissa M. Marangola, The complaint is the result of an investigation by the New York State Police, under the direction of Major Eric Laughton, the Rochester Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the
direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Gary Loeffert, and the Livingston County District Attorney’s Office, under the direction of District Attorney Gregory J. McCaffrey.