School Board Member Gets Suspended Sentence In Sex Assault Case

STRATFORD, CT — A Stratford Board of Education member accused of sexually assaulting a young girl repeatedly over the course of several years took a plea deal Friday under which he could serve no jail time.

Robert DeLorenzo, 47, was originally charged with sexual assault and risk of injury to a minor but pleaded guilty to two counts of reckless endangerment and was ordered to serve a two-year suspended prison sentence and three years conditional discharge. He will not be required to register as a sex offender, but two lifetime criminal protective orders will prevent him from ever contacting the victim or her sister.

DeLorenzo was accused of sexually assaulting the victim from the time she was in fifth grade to the time she was in seventh grade, starting when she was about 10 years old, according to the arrest warrant affidavit for the case. When asked by police in 2017 about the allegations, DeLorenzo denied them, the affidavit said.

The victim did not attend Friday's court appearance, but her mother read a prepared statement on the girl's behalf and gave a statement of her own, detailing the child's psychological and emotional struggles.

"My daughter lost her innocence and childhood," the woman said, at one point stopping to cry and collect herself while giving her statement.

DeLorenzo declined to speak, but his attorney, Sean Barrett, said he was glad the involved parties could reach a consensus.

"This case has been extremely difficult," Barrett said.

DeLorenzo pleaded Friday under the Alford doctrine, which is not a direct admission of guilt, but rather a disagreement with the facts of the case that also acknowledges the possibility of a harsher sentence at trial.

"The state's attorney stepped up to the plate and made a fair offer under all the circumstances," Barrett said after Friday's hearing.

DeLorenzo, a Democrat whose term expires in 2021, has no plans to resign from the school board, Barrett said.

Judge Kevin Doyle said DeLorenzo's sentence was appropriate and referred to "disputed factual issues" in the case.

"I hope that the complainant understands that she did do the right thing coming forward," Doyle said.