Sickly Christiano Pleads Guilty to Raping Little Girl

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LIVINGSTON COUNTY – An Avon man pled guilty to the unthinkable Thursday morning as he admitted to repeatedly having sex with a girl under the age of 11 on several occasions from 2005 to 2012.

Richard Christiano, who turned 58 just ten days ago, entered a plea of guilty to Course of Sexual Conduct Against a Child, a class B felony with an agreed-upon sentence of 20 years in prison with 20 years of post-release supervision.

A stoic, emotionless Christiano looked emaciated as he stood at the defendant’s table, looking much thinner than in his mugshot taken just three months ago, and with thinned, grayed hair and mustache.

Christiano gave a full colloquy divulging the details of his crimes following the questions of Assistant District Attorney Victor Rowcliffe, including the birth date of the victim and that the deviant acts were committed repeatedly over the year of 2005.

Judge Dennis Cohen told Christiano that he will have to register as a sex offender under the Sex Offender Registration Act after his release, and can expect to be considered a level 3 sex offender, or at maximum risk to re-offend.

Judge Cohen also advised him of New York State’s Civil Confinement laws, which allow sex offenders to be ‘civilly managed,’ or possibly committed to a mental institution if a medical evaluation finds that the inmate is so mentally deviant that they cannot control their behaviors. It will not be known until Christiano’s release whether these laws have any bearing on his case.

Christiano never bailed out of jail since his arrest on December 8, and has spent the entire court process in jail.

PHOTO CAPTION: Richard Christiano is led off in chains. (Photo/Conrad Baker).