NEW Paltz man, 35, sexually abused 2 Children, jury finds

The abuse occurred over a five-year period starting in January 2005, authorities said.

KINGSTON -- A 35year-old New Paltz man was convicted in Ulster County Court Friday of sexual conduct against a child and sexual abuse, felonies, and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child, a misdemeanor, according to Ulster County District Attorney Holley Carnright.

The conviction of Chad Olson of 527 N. Ohioville Road followed testimony from two victims, one of whom was under 13 when the abuse occurred at homes in Rosendale and Esopus between January 2005 and August 2008, Carnright said.

The second victim was younger than 11 at the time of abuse at a home in Sawkill between November 2008 and January 2009, Carnright said.

The jury of seven women and five men also heard testimony from forensic psychologists who said it is common for child victims to delay reporting abuse, particularly when the abuser is a member of the household, which Carnright said was the case.

During the four-day trial before Ulster County Judge Donald Williams, the defendant questioned the credibility of the children, Carnright said.

The prosecutor, Katherine Van Loan, who heads the District Attorney’s Office’s special victims bureau, noted that the only connection between the two victims is that their mothers dated the defendant. She argued that there was “no plausible explanation why, or even how, they would conspire against the defendant,” Carnright said.

Attorney Edward Bruno of Pine Bush represented the defendant.