An attorney from Niagara Falls who faced charges connected to multiple rapes pleaded guilty Tuesday in Niagara County Court to eight felony sex crimes involving three victims, one of whom was 16.
Nicholas D'Angelo, 30, will serve six months in jail and will be sentenced to 10 years of a special type of probation for sex offenders as part of a plea agreement reached with the Erie County District Attorney's Office, details of which attorneys unveiled in court.
He also will be placed on the state's sex offender registry, will surrender his law license – which would have been revoked for seven years upon conviction – and promises not to attempt to get his license back.
Sentencing was scheduled for July 6. He remains released on his own recognizance, while subject to travel restrictions and having already surrendered his passport.
Standing between his defense attorneys in the courtroom, D'Angelo answered questions from the State Supreme Court Justice Debra Givens about his actions in a series of short phrases, including "Yes, judge," and "Yes, your honor."
When asked about his conduct in relation to each of the victims, D'Angelo replied, "Guilty."
All three victims attended the court proceeding and approved of the plea agreement, Assistant District Attorney Lynette M. Reda said in court.
Jury selection for his trial had been scheduled for May 8.
Defense attorney Jessica Kulpit declined comment after Tuesday's proceeding.
The six months of incarceration is the longest period of jail time possible under state law for people who also get 10 years of sex offender probation, Reda said.
In late August, Nicholas D'Angelo brought suits accusing three other people of defaming him on Facebook by calling him a rapist or saying he had pleaded guilty to rape.
The sex offender probation is a more strict program than regular probation, according to the District Attorney's Office. Conditions, which are ultimately set by probation officials, include limiting types of employment, internet usage, contact with anyone under 18 – including relatives – and electronic monitoring.
If D'Angelo were to be found guilty of any probation violation, he would potentially face consecutive sentences on all charges, which could lead to a maximum 44-year prison sentence, Reda said.
D'Angelo pleaded guilty before Givens to four counts of first-degree sexual abuse, class D felonies, two counts of third-degree criminal sexual act and two counts of third-degree rape, class E felonies.
The first-degree sexual abuse charges represent a benefit to D'Angelo, compared with the class B felonies on which he was indicted, because they don't require a state prison sentence, Reda said.
The length of his placement on the sex offender registry, and what level offender he is deemed, will be determined at a subsequent hearing.
Nicholas D'Angelo, 29, pleaded not guilty at his November 2020 arraignment to a 12-count indictment, which has now been reduced to 11 counts.
As part of the plea, D'Angelo will not face other potential charges involving the same conduct from other law enforcement agencies, prosecutors said.
D'Angelo admitted to having forcible sexual contact with one woman three times in his vehicle in late 2016.
He admitted to subjecting a victim to sexual contact by forcible compulsion in his office in October 2018.
He also admitted to having sexual intercourse and oral sexual contact with a 16-year-old victim from late August through early October 2019 on a boat in Niagara County, as well as his law office.
In November 2020, D'Angelo was arraigned on a 12-count indictment accusing him of raping a woman in 2016, sexually abusing a second woman in 2018 and raping a teen younger than 17 in 2019.
He was originally charged with one count each of first-degree rape, first-degree sexual abuse and unlawful imprisonment; two counts each of third-degree rape, first- and third-degree criminal sexual act; and three counts of patronizing a prostitute.
The unlawful imprisonment charge was dismissed in December 2021 because the reported conduct was no longer able to be prosecuted due to the statute of limitations.
Attorney Nicholas D. D'Angelo was charged with first-degree attempted tampering with public records, second-degree forgery, first-degree identity theft – all felonies – and a misdemeanor election law violation.
Tuesday's plea wasn't the end of D'Angelo's legal woes. He was
charged in March after a campaign fraud investigation, accused of making a campaign contribution in a Niagara Falls judicial race in 2021 in the name of the husband of the prosecutor in his rape case.
He faces additional charges in that case, the Niagara County District Attorney's Office announced Tuesday. D'Angelo has been indicted on four counts of first-degree identity theft, two counts of second-degree forgery, two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument, two counts of making a contribution in someone else's name and two counts of first-degree attempted tampering with public records, county prosecutors said in a news release.
The Erie County District Attorney's Office became special prosecutors in the case after former Niagara County District Attorney Caroline Wojtaszek recused herself because D'Angelo worked on her winning campaign for county judge in 2020.
(Mike Frisch)
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