Former attorney and political operative Nicholas D. D’Angelo, who admitted he forced two women to have sexual contact and had sex with a 16-year-old girl, has been deemed a Level 3 sex offender.
The determination, sought by prosecutors and ordered by a judge at a hearing Thursday, means D’Angelo carries the highest level for risk of reoffending.
He will have to remain a registered sex offender for life.
D’Angelo, 30, of Niagara Falls, was sentenced in July to six months in jail and 10 years of sex offender probation after pleading guilty in April to eight felony sex crimes. At his sentencing, State Supreme Court Justice Debra Givens pointed to the “onerous” conditions of his probation for his “multiple heinous sex crimes against three innocent young women.”
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D’Angelo pleaded guilty to four counts of first-degree sexual abuse, two counts of third-degree criminal sexual act and two counts of third-degree rape.
Prosecutors said sex offender probation is more strict than regular probation. If D’Angelo were found guilty of a probation violation, he would potentially face consecutive sentences on all charges. That could lead to a maximum 44-year prison sentence.
The six-month jail term was the longest period of incarceration possible under state law for people who also receive a 10-year sentence of sex offender probation.
As part of his plea in April, authorities agreed not to seek potential charges from other law enforcement agencies related to the same conduct.
D’Angelo was previously convicted of sexual misconduct for a 2009 incident in which, as a 16-year-old, he was involved in an incident with a 14-year-old girl in a Niagara Falls High School stairwell. He was granted youthful offender status in that case, according to documents on file with the Niagara County Clerk’s Office.
In a separate criminal case, D’Angelo has been accused of making phony payments to the campaign of a Niagara Falls judicial candidate in 2021 under the name of the husband of a prosecutor in his sex crimes case. Those allegations carry 10 felony charges against him.
Those charges remain pending.
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