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Inconsistencies in witnesses testimonies, a lack of evidence, and a witness who had motivation to lie are all reasons to find Sean Vickers not guilty of sexually abusing five boys in Batavia, defense attorney Jerry Ader told jurors today in closing arguments of the three-day trial.

District Attorney Lawrence Friedman countered that Ader "nibbled around the edges" of the case and ignore inconvenient facts.

Jurors are being asked to decide whether Vickers is guilty of sodomy (the title of the law at the time of the alleged offenses) and criminal sexual act.

Vickers, a former Batavia resident, was living in Geneva at the time of his arrest. 

Ader, of the Public Defender's Office, told jurors that one witness told investigators at one time that he was eight years old when Vickers molested him; at trial, the same person said the acts occurred in 2011. 

Both statements couldn't be true, Ader said.

"You have people here who just don't remember what happened and when," Ader said. "That leads to whether these things happened at all."

Friedman said that while a person's childhood memories may be faulty about dates, they aren't faulty -- at least in this case -- about the searing memories of abuse.

None of the alleged victims at any point were inconsistent or recanted their testimony about specific acts of abuse, even if they couldn't place them at the right time in their lives.

"That's not something they forget," Friedman said. "That's not something they confuse with something else. That's something that sticks with them for the rest of their lives."

Ader said only one police officer testified at trial and provided only one fact relevant to the case.

"The people did not offer any evidence to support the alleged victim's testimony from an unbiased law enforcement investigation," Ader said. "You heard testimony from a forensic expert that interestingly can explain every inconsistency as being consist with child abuse. How convenient that every possible inconsistency can support sexual abuse."

There was an investigation, Friedman said. That's how some of the witnesses were located and their stories of past abuse -- or knowledge of abuse -- were brought to light.  

And the forensic expert didn't testify that inconsistencies were evidence. She explained, Friedman said, why children who have been abused sometimes lie, hide the truth, are fearful of coming forward and change their stories. 

"We're not at all suggesting that this is evidence of abuse," Friedman said. "This is not a diagnostic tool. We're not saying if you find those factors it proves abuse. The purpose of her testimony is for you to hear from an expert with her speciality explaining why these things happen and don't happen."

The alleged victims were consistent in the key facts: their abuse, Friedman said.

"With five victims in this case, there is no indication of them ever retracting the allegations of sexual abuse," Friedman said. "There's no indication of peer pressure. There's no indication of suggestions by others."

Ader was especially critical of one witness, now an adult serving a state prison term for sexual abuse, who claimed to have been abused by Vickers when he was 12.

The witness has been denied parole before and has another upcoming parole hearing. That's motivation to lie, Ader said.

"He's been in prison for years," Ader said. "He's had more than enough opportunity to make statements, to contact police, to say something about (Vickers) for years, without any threats or promises. (Vickers) can't get him in prison. He can send an anonymous letter. Nothing. But now he needs to get out of prison, so he makes the allegations against (Vickers). How convenient."

The fact is, Friedman said, the witness had shared his allegation of abuse at the hands of Vickers 10 years ago, just not in as much detail as now.

Also, it's not like the witness came forward. An investigator located him and questioned him. There's no evidence the prisoner asked for or received special treatment in exchange for his testimony.

The jury started deliberations after receiving instructions on the law and the counts against Vickers this afternoon.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story left out the word "not" in the following quote from DA Lawrence Friedman: ""This is not a diagnostic tool."

Press release:

After 26 years as president and CEO of Tompkins Bank of Castile, James W. Fulmer is retiring from those roles at the end of this year, but will remain as chairman of the bank’s Board of Directors, said Stephen S. Romaine, president and CEO of Tompkins Financial Corporation, the bank’s parent company.

“Jim has been instrumental in Tompkins Bank of Castile’s growth and success for the last quarter century, growing the bank from five locations with assets of $85 million in two counties, to an influential financial services organization with 17 offices in five counties and $1.2 billion in assets,” Romaine said. 

In addition to remaining as chairman of Tompkins Bank of Castile’s Board of Directors, Fulmer will retain several other corporate roles, including vice chairman of the Tompkins Financial Board of Directors, chairman of the board of Tompkins Insurance Agencies, and member of the boards of Tompkins Financial Advisors, Tompkins Mahopac Bank and Tompkins VIST Bank, all affiliates of Tompkins Financial Corp. 

“My position with Tompkins Bank of Castile has been extremely fulfilling because of the team of employees who are dedicated to providing top quality financial services and serving our Western New York communities,” Fulmer said. “Any success we have accomplished is the result of their combined efforts and the expertise of so many talented coworkers.

“My continued involvement at a strategic level will allow me to assist further growth of our affiliates, but also to enjoy some of the benefits of retirement,” he added. 

Fulmer is active in a variety of professional organizations, including the board of directors of the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York and was recently appointed to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York Community Depository Advisory Council. He actively serves as a member of the board of directors of Erie and Niagara Insurance Association of Williamsville, Cherry Valley Insurance Agencies of Williamsville, the United Memorial Medical Center of Batavia, and is vice chairman of WXXI Public Broadcasting Council of Rochester. 

He and his wife, Marjorie, live in Le Roy. They have three grown children. 

John McKenna Named New President & CEO

The company Board of Directors has named John M. McKenna president and CEO to succeed Fulmer. McKenna has been a senior vice president at Tompkins Bank of Castile for five years, concentrating in commercial lending.

“John has the depth of knowledge of banking, our company’s culture and the Western New York community to continue the bank’s success,” Fulmer said. 

McKenna brought more than 20 years of banking experience to Tompkins Bank of Castile when he joined the organization in 2009. 

A Rochester native, McKenna earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Rochester in 1988 and his M.B.A. in finance and marketing from the William E. Simon School of Business Administration in 1992. 

He resides in Brighton with his wife, Martha, and their four children. Active in the community, he is a board member of the Bishop's Stewardship Council for the Diocese of Rochester, Medical Motor Service of Rochester and Monroe Community Hospital Foundation, and treasurer of Al Sigl Community of Agencies.

Tompkins Bank of Castile is headquartered in Batavia, where McKenna will have his office.

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In the past, when Dr. Ronald Reed has expanded his practice, he's erected gleaming new buildings from the ground up.

But not in Batavia.

Reed Eye Associates has opened its sixth location and Reed selected a location with character and ambiance and a bit of history.

The brick building at 39 Washington Ave., across from Austin Park, was most recently the City Schools administration building, but when originally built in 1903 by Edward Dellinger, it was an elementary school.

Batavia's most prominent architectural firm of the time, Henry Homelius and Son, designed the building.

In remodeling the interior, Reed has kept to an art deco theme with a touch of modernism in keeping with the character of the building.

"I saw the building listed online and went to the site and looked at the building and liked it," Reed said. "I called Tony Mancuso, who had the listing, and he gave me a tour. I thought, 'this building needs a lot of work, but it has some great bones.' "

Refurbishing the building also uncovered a little history. One brickmason left behind a note found in the stairwell that said the best men laid the bricks. Another worker in 1939 put a note in a bottle, which was found in a wall, that said "if you're reading this note, it means by now we're all in hell."  

Then there was letter on YMCA letterhead and postmarked 1913, address to a young Myron Fincher. The apparently mimeographed letter speaks of a young man worthy of attention who exchanged a correspondence with Frank Crane, a Presbyterian minister and newspaper columnist. The letter references the enclosed newspaper column, but the column was not in the envelop.

Fincher was born in 1898 in Corfu and worked on the family farm. His fondness for animals brought him to Cornell University. He became an internationally prominent veterinarian. Early in his career he received the Borden Award from the American Veterinary Medical Association. By the 1960s, he was working overseas in places such as Peru, Uruguay, Brazil, Greece, Nigeria and Italy.

Reed said it was thrilling for these little bits of history to be found in his old building.

Reed's company purchased the property from the school district in 2012 for $500,000 and its 13,452-square-foot building. The renovations cost more than $1.5 million and helped put the property back on the tax roles. Reed Eye received $140,861 in tax incentives through Genesee County Economic Development Center for the project.

The expansion of the practice, which was founded in Bushnell's Basin (Pittsford) in 1978 has come, Reed said, as the practice attracted more and more patients. Each time an office would grow beyond its capacity, rather than expand that location, Reed looked at his patient list and figured out where he had a concentration of patients who were driving some distance to get to his office.

First, Reed Eye expanded to Greece, then Irondequoit, then Newark followed by Sodus.

Expansion has been driven, Reed said, by his belief that doctors should focus on their patients.

No long ago, he said he was asked to speak to a group about the secret of his success. He declined, he said, because "there is no secret."

"My word of advise is 'take good care of your patients and your patients will take care of you,' " Reed said. "If that's the focus of your practice, the patients will build your practice. If you don't, you won't have a practice."

With more and more patients from Genesee County, particularly because of a partnership with Dr. Bill Lapple in Le Roy, Batavia seemed to be the natural choice for a sixth office complex.

Reed said there were simply no suitable sites for the office, which was one reason he considered the old school administration building.

The fact that it's large, with plenty of parking (and room for more), centrally located in the city and across the street from a park, where all advantages.

"The park helps give it a nice bucolic feel," Reed said.

In the redesign, as much of the old building was preserved as possible -- the arches, the worn stairway trampled by thousands of students over the years, and the old woodwork. There's even an old desk from the library that is being restored and will be a centerpiece of the entry hallway.

"I've had an interest for some time in historic preservation," Reed said. "We have a 100 year old house in East Rochester that we've been restoring. This seemed like the right thing to do."

The focus on historic preservation shouldn't imply that the practice isn't state of the art. Reed's optometrists, opthamologists and opticians (and even a facial plastic surgeon) have all new equipment to work with.

Read also believes in supporting the communities he does business in. He hires locally as much as possible, he said. Four key employees already with the Batavia office are longtime Batavia or Le Roy residents.

"When a patient walks in the door, they should recognize the people who work there as members of their community," Reed said. "I want to support the town because if the town supports me, it has to be mutual. We want to keep the dollars local."

There will be a ribbon-cutting and open house for Reed Eye Associations at 2 p.m., Friday.

Optomistrist Kimberly Rosati with patient Tanner Richardson, who was in the clinic Wednesday learning how to put in his new contact lenses (picture below).

A Batavia Downs patron is alive today because of the training and calm professionalism of a security guard who started CPR and helped administer defibrillation.

Cory Lapp is only 21, but he's already been a volunteer EMT with the Attica Fire Department for three years (he joined the department at age 16). His medical training came in handy while working security at the casino when he checked on a report of a patron who was down and unresponsive.

"There were a couple of people standing around, so I peaked over and realized he wasn't moving at all," Lapp said.

Lapp immediately started CPR and summoned a partner, Officer Bob Humphrey, to retrieve the defibrillator.

Together, they used the machine on the patient and the man revived and was later transported to the hospital.

The name of the patient has not been released.

As an EMT, Lapp has been called on to perform CPR before, but he said it still feels pretty good to save a life.

"It feels good to know that when he was in my hands, he was alive," Lapp said. "It's a good feeling. It's kind of hard to describe it."

As Lapp walked with a reporter through the facility, coworkers congratulated him.

"Good job, Cory," they said as he walked by.

Due to the likelihood of rain, the Batavia Concert Band's performance this evening is moved to the Stuart Steiner Theater at GCC.

From the announcement:

Tonight's concert will feature bandmembers' and conductor John Bailey's favorite pieces from this Summer and years past. It'll be an audience (and musician) pleasing mix of movie themes, Big Band and Broadway tunes, and of course -- marches!

A child has reportedly been struck by a car in the area of 3314 Buffalo St., Alexander.

Alexander fire and Mercy EMS dispatched.

UPDATE 10:54 a.m.: Dispatchers are checking the available of Mercy Flight.

UPDATE(S) by Billie 10:58 a.m.: Mercy Flight 5 out of Batavia is going to the scene and has an ETA of about 7 minutes. The child was struck in front of Alexander Central School and Mercy Flight will be landing in the school's football field.

UPDATE 11:01 a.m.: Mercy medics have arrived. Responders are cautioned that a portion of Route 98 in that area is down to one lane of travel due to construction work.

UPDATE 11:08 a.m.: Mercy Flight has landed.

UPDATE 11:23 a.m.: Mercy Flight is airborne and transporting to Women & Children's Hospital in Buffalo.

UPDATE 11:50 a.m.: Howard at the scene said a child was crossing Buffalo Street southbound and struck by a Ford SUV that was eastbound. The child suffered possible internal injuries. Howard is about to speak with a Sheriff's sargaent to get more details.

UPDATE 12:07 p.m.: Law enforcement is not releasing the name or age of the child, who was a boy. They don't know at this point exactly what happened, if the child just darted out into the street or what. Speed is not considered a factor and other children were nearby. Witnesses are being interviewed. While there's concern about possible internal injuries, the extent of injuries are unknown at this time. The child did suffer leg injuries.

UPDATE 3:40 p.m.: The Sheriff's Office has issued a press release on the accident. The driver is identified Christopher D. Earsing, 30, of Alexander. The child is 8 years old, but not further identified. He is in stable condition at Children's Hospital. The investigation is being conducted by Deputy Matthew Butler and Investigator Roger Stone.

Benito A. Gay, 26, of Bank Street, Batavia, is charged with criminal impersonation, 2nd. Gay is accused of giving a false name to police in an attempt to hide his identity as an alleged parole absconder. Gay was jailed on a NYS Parole retainer.

Mckayla J. Kosiorek, 19, of Jackson Street, Batavia, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Kosiorek allegedly possessed marijuana paraphernalia containing marijuana residue.

Alex Scott Dumbleton, 21, of Liberty Street, Batavia, is charged with two counts of criminal contempt, 1st. The day after being served an order of protection barring contact with two people, Dumbleton allegedly went to the residence of the protected parties.

Brian Eric Daggar, 28, Woodmill Drive, Holley, is charged with petit larceny. Dagger was arrested on a Town of Batavia warrant by the Monroe County Sheriff's Office during an investigation into an incident at the Walmart in Brockport.

Amanda Marie Webb, 25, of Colby Road, Darien, is charged with petit larceny and criminal possession of a forged instrument, 3rd. Webb was stopped for an alleged traffic infraction on Colby Road, Darien, and was found to have a warrant out of City Court for an alleged crime reported March 31 at 10 at Jefferson Square, Batavia.

The following people were arrested by the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office during the Rockstar Energy Mayhem concert at Darien Lake Performing Arts Center on Tuesday.

Logan J. Lukowski, 18, of Buffalo Road, Rochester, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana after allegedly being found in possession of marijuana.

(name redacted), 18, of Southland Drive, Rochester, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana after allegedly being found in possession of marijuana.

A 17-year-old resident ,of Lexington Green, West Seneca, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana after allegedly being found in possession of marijuana.

Kyle J. Ramen, 19, of Kirkwood Drive, West Seneca, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana after allegedly being found in possession of marijuana.

A 17-year-old resident of Bridlewood Drive, East Amherst, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana after allegedly being found in possession of marijuana.

MatthewJ Suszka, 20, of Capital Heights, Holland, is charged with criminal possession of marijuana, 5th, criminal possession of a controlled substance, 7th, and criminal possession of a hypodermic Instrument after allegedly being found in possession of more than 25 grams of marijuana, hallucinogenic mushrooms and hypodermic needles.

Shaun H. McGhee, 29, of Route 11, Antwerp, is charged with trespass after allegedly reentering the concert venue after being ejected and told not to return.

Jeffrey T. Peyman, 30, of Ellicott Street Road, Batavia, is charged with trespass after allegedly reentering the concert venue after being ejected and told not to return.

Jemel Cannon, 37, of Crotona Park, North Bronx, is charged with disorderly conduct after allegedly causing a disturbance in the parking lot.

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The Patriot Guard delivered today one more gift, one more honor for Karie Schmigel, the mother of Sgt. Shaina Schmigel, the Iraq War veteran and paratrooper who died while training at Fort Bragg, N.C., in early June.

Members of the group of motorcycle riders -- who often serve as honor guard and escort for soldiers who die in the line of duty, and did so for Shaina's funeral -- drove to Karie's house on South Swan this evening to deliver a special portrait of Sgt. Schmigel.

Karie was immediately overcome as soon as she saw it.

The portrait was presented by Robert Polanski, left, and Scott Hayes.

The Schmigel family is selling bracelets, stickers and T-shirts to honor Shaina. The proceeds are being donated to the Airborne & Special Operations Museum at Fort Bragg. So far, $1,500 has been raised.

Driving down South Jackson, I see a man in black slacks and a dress shirt with a push mower cutting his lawn.

If it were the 1950s or 1960s, perhaps that wouldn't be unusual.

Frank DeMare said it is a little unusual for him to cut the lawn. Usually, it's one of his sons.

DeMare has four sons and a small yard, so he's never seen the point in buying a power mower, or a power snow blower, for that matter. Shovels work just fine.

As we move into August, football is in the air. The Batavia Bulldawgs started practices this week with sessions in the late afternoon at Kibbe Park. The first league games are Aug. 16, with Batavia hosting Attica at Lions Park.

As families left a lunchtime soup kitchen at the Assembly of God Church on North Spruce Street this afternoon, an unknown person apparently fired BBs at them.

The thwack of a BB against the siding of a building got everybody's attention and then after another shot, a BB was seen on the ground.

One BB narrowly missed a child, the child's mother said.

Police were called and a canvass of the area failed to produce a suspect. The shots were believed fired from a neighboring apartment complex.

"I don't know the motivation," said Sgt. Dan Coffey. "I don't know why somebody would decide to shoot BBs in the direction of a church, let alone the people standing outside near it. I couldn't speculate on that at this point."

The building wall showed clear evidence of at least one BB's impact.

Valerie White and Daniel Orlando said their little was almost struck by one of the shots as she was sitting in her stroller. The couple and their two children, ages 3 and 5, were outside talking with another family and their kids when the incident occurred just before noon today.

"All the sudden we hear two ping, pings hitting the side of the building," White said. "We're looking around to see what's going on. It sounded like little stones hitting the building. Somebody noticed it was a BB coming toward us and we looked on the ground and there was a BB on the ground and there was a hole in the building. One just missed our daughter."

Orlando held up two fingers an inch apart and said, "it was probably this close."

Coffey said the weapon could either be CO2-powered or a pump-style BB gun. 

The suspects, if identified, are looking at possible reckless endangerment and criminal mischief charges.

Anyone with any information can contact the Batavia Police at 585-345-6350.

Original reporting for this story by Alecia Kaus/Video News Service.

Voters in the East Pembroke Fire District today approved on a 167-45 vote the construction of a new fire hall for their community.

The vote authorizes the district to proceed with the $3 million project, which will provide volunteer firefighters with a new 11,128 square-foot facility.

The building will contain not only more room for existing fire trucks, but rooms for hose drying, decontamination and air packs. 

As a result of the vote, property owners in the district will see their tax assessment increase from the current $1.10 per $1,000 of assessed value to a maximum of $1.98.

The new hall will replace an aging and structurally deficient building that has seen its better days.

Press release:

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli today announced the arrest of Dennis Snow, the treasurer of the Le Roy Fire Department in Genesee County. Snow was charged with two counts of grand larceny in the third degree (class D felony), 42 counts of forgery in the first degree (class C felony) and two counts of falsifying business records in the first degree (class E felony) for allegedly stealing nearly $50,000 in public funds.

“This individual blatantly abused his position and went on a spending spree with public money,” DiNapoli said. “It is alarming that my office continues to uncover instances such as this where local officials misuse their office for their personal benefit. I commend the village of Le Roy Police Department and District Attorney (Lawrence) Friedman for working closely with my staff to make sure this individual is held accountable for his actions.”

DiNapoli’s office found that Snow allegedly made unauthorized transfers, withdrawals and deposits from the department’s account, as well as from the firemen's benevolent association. Snow used the money to pay his personal bills and admitted that he forged the required co-signers signatures in order to complete his theft. The audit is expected to be finalized in the next month. Snow is due back in court on Aug. 13.

Police investigators are looking into separate incidents last week to try and determine if the crimes are related and identify suspects.

The first incident involved a robbery in the area of Tracy and Washington avenues in which three people robbed a pedestrian at about 11:20 p.m., July 19.

The second incident was two nights later and involved four individuals jumping a victim in the area of State Street and Willow Street.

While the robbery was previously reported, BPD has released suspect descriptions. 

The three youths are described as a black male, late teens, wearing a dark-colored hoodie; a light-skinned male in his late teens wearing a white tie-died muscle shirt; and, a person in the late teens with no other description provided.

One of the teens threatened the victim with the use of a weapon and told him to give him his money. The victim did not see a weapon displayed, but followed orders and handed over his money.

In the second incident, the victim was sitting on a porch talking with a friend when a person approached and asked to speak with him along the side of the house. 

As he moved to the side of the house, three other individuals surrounded him. 

The first person started a confrontation with the victim and the other three people jumped in.

A witness called police and when police arrived, the suspects ran.

One juvenile was detained and later released to a parent. 

The 20-year-old victim was treated at the scene by Mercy EMS and said he didn't require further treatment. 

Anyone having information should contact the Batavia Police at 345-6350 or confidentially via e-mail on the City of Batavia Web site link to the Batavia Police or Tip Line 345-6370.

If you saw a couple of guys with cameras on tripods this morning on Main Street, they are Drew and Adam Hilker, who are contractors with Google traveling the state shooting pictures for an updated street view map on Google Maps.

The new street view is intended to provide more detail in business districts, such as Downtown Batavia.

Dennis C. Bump, 33, of Stannard Road, Alexander, is charged with grand larceny, 3rd. Bump is accused of stealing from his employer at various locations in Batavia. Bump was released under supervision of Genesee Justice.

Ann M. Capuano, 29, of West Main Street, Batavia, was arrested on a warrant for alleged failure to appear. The underlying charges for her court appearance in this case were not released by police. She had been issued an appearance ticket on a previous matter. Capuano was released on $100 cash bail.

Desmond L. Majors, 21, of Walden Creek Drive, Batavia, is charged with two counts of harassment, 2nd, and disorderly conduct. Majors allegedly struck another person and yelled obscenities in a public place.

Kenisha A. Thomas, 16, of Dellinger Avenue, Batavia, is charged with assault, 3rd. Thomas is accused of assaulting another person while in Austin Park at 3:10 p.m., Sunday.

Daniel Robert Ruffner, 28, of Telephone Road, Pavilion, is charged with harassment, 2nd. Ruffner is accused of being the primary aggressor in a fight with another person.

Laurie J. Lerkins, 37, of Le Roy, is charged with driving while impaired by drugs and unlawful possession of marijuana. Lerkins was reportedly involved in a two-car accident on Route 98, Town of Java. Lerkins allegedly failed to maintain her lane and struck a vehicle driven by Rodney L. Gleason, 53, of North Chili. Upon subsequent investigation by state troopers, Lerkins was allegedly found to be under the influence of drugs. She was issued traffic tickets for failure to keep right, aggravated unlicensed operation, unlicensed operation and failure to notify DMV of a change of address.

Also, a Grand Jury indictment:

Cassandra R. Blake is indicted on one count of grand larceny, 4th. Blake is accused of stealing 245 lottery tickets with a face value of $1,028, along with payouts from those tickets and other cash, from the Yellow Goose store in Pavilion on or about June 21 and 22.

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