By John Nickerson
Staff Writer Posted: 12/13/2008 02:45:14 AM EST
NORWALK - Former city police officer Ray DeCamillo on Friday was ordered to serve nine months in prison and will be required to register as a sexual offender for groping a woman during a 2006 traffic stop.
DeCamillo, 37, of New Canaan, was convicted in October of fourth-degree sexual assault and second-degree unlawful restraint.
At his sentencing, Judge Maureen Dennis sentenced him to two years in prison, suspended after nine months served and followed by three years probation.
Two other women testified that DeCamillo acted in an inappropriate sexual manner with them while he was on duty.
Detective Bureau Sgt. Arthur Weisgerber, lead investigator in the case, said he was pleased with the verdict and commended the women for coming forward with their stories and trusting the police department to see the investigation through.
"I'm pleased that we have removed a person from the department who did not belong in that position," Weisgerber said.
DeCamillo was convicted of pulling over the woman, now 23, on Silvermine Avenue in Norwalk early in the morning of July 5, 2006. She said DeCamillo grabbed her left breast and gave her his personal cell phone number, which she turned over to police.
He was fired in May 2007, after more than 2-1/2 years with the department.
During his three-year probation, DeCamillo must participate in sexual offender evaluation and treatment, is prohibited from owning firearms, may have no contact with the victims and have no unsupervised conduct with women younger than 17 years old, Dennis said. He also was prohibited from obtaining a job as a security officer or police officer during probation.
Once released, his picture will be placed on the sex offender registry for 10 years, and he will be required to update his living address regularly.
Before the sentencing, Assistant State's Attorney Michael DeJoseph said he had never seen a more "disturbing" set of circumstances in a criminal case in his 12 years as a prosecutor.
"He has completely abused his office and completely abused the trust society has placed in him," DeJoseph said.
DeJoseph also took umbrage that a pre-sentence investigation disclosed that DeCamillo continues to deny culpability for his actions that July night in 2006.
DeJoseph asked Dennis to "send a message" that this conduct will not be tolerated by sending DeCamillo to jail for 11 months.
"The defendant needs to be incarcerated. He abused the public trust and still maintains he did nothing wrong," DeJoseph said.
DeCamillo's attorney, William Pelletreau, told Dennis that his client has no criminal record and would probably not offend again.
Pelletreau asked that he be given a suspended sentence with no jail time and with community service.
DeCamillo briefly addressed Dennis and said the picture painted of him by DeJoseph was not accurate.
He told Dennis that he worked for years in the YMCA and developed programs for special needs children.
He also said that there was no reason for society to fear him.
After DeCamillo was sentenced and handcuffed by judicial marshals, Pelletreau asked that the sentence be set aside until after the holidays. Dennis denied the motion.
With DeCamillo being led away by judicial marshal at each elbow, Pelletreau then asked if the judge would request that DeCamillo be reviewed by the state Department of Correction for protective custody while he serves his sentence. Dennis complied.
- Staff Writer John Nickerson can be reached at john.nickerson@scni.com or 750-5307.