Pine Bush man pleads guilty to sexual abuse of a child

KINGSTON - A Pine Bush man pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a girl less than 11 years old four days before his trial was scheduled to begin.

The Ulster County District Attorney's office said James Grant Jr., 74, of Pine Bush was charged with first-degree sexual abuse, a felony.

He pleaded guilty to that charge on Thursday last week.

According to the district attorney's office, in pleading guilty, Grant admitted to touching a child under 11 for the purpose of sexual gratification.

When Ulster County Court Judge James Farrell asked Grant if the child appeared to be under the age of 11 when he touched her, Grant replied, "Oh, yeah," according to the district attorney's office.

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"The defendant, in just 10 minutes alone with a young child, turned that child's life upside down by exposing this child to sexual contact for his own sexual proclivities," Jenna Hastings, special victims bureau chief for the district attorney's office, said in a statement. "James Grant Jr. is a danger to children and now our community knows it. The child in this case was incredibly brave for coming forward and disclosing what the defendant did."

Thomas Melanson, an attorney for Grant, declined to make a comment on his client's behalf until he is sentenced.

Grant is scheduled to be sentenced by Farrell on June 13.

Mike Randall covers breaking news for the Times Herald-Record and the Poughkeepsie Journal. Reach him at mrandall@th-record.com or on Twitter @mikerandall845.

This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: Guilty plea in Ulster County child sexual abuse case