Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice announced that a Freeport man pleaded guilty to two indictments in connection with non-consensual acts of sexual criminal conduct with a 16-year-old boy he met online, and for false submissions made to the New York State Education Department during his employment with the Freeport Union Free School District.
John O’Mard pleaded guilty today before Nassau County Judge Angelo Delligatti to the following charges:
• Four counts of Criminal Sexual Act in the 3rd Degree (an E felony)
• Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the 1st Degree (an E felony)
• Perjury in the 2nd Degree (an E felony)
• Official Misconduct (an A misdemeanor)
The defendant received a sentencing commitment from the court of 60 days in jail and 10 years of probation. O’Mard will also be required to register as a sex offender. He is due back in court for sentencing on Feb. 6, 2015.
“Instead of being a role model to his students, this defendant committed crimes against a young person and betrayed the trust placed in him as principal of his school,” DA Rice said. “The parents, teachers, students and taxpayers of this school district deserved far better.”
DA Rice said that on Sept. 22, 2012, O’Mard engaged in oral and anal sexual conduct with a 16-year-old boy he met through Grindr, a mobile networking application, at O’Mard’s home in Freeport. O’Mard admitted in open court today that he was guilty of the crimes not only because of the age of the boy but also because he engaged in such acts without the boy’s consent.
On or about Sept. 3, 2004, and July 22, 2006, O’Mard knowingly made false entries on applications for certifications with the New York State Education Department, specifically denying that he had any criminal history.
O’Mard was employed as the principal of the John W. Dodd Middle School from Sept. 1, 2003 until his termination by the School Board on April 25, 2013. O’Mard’s termination was the result of his March 20, 2013 arrest on multiple charges of Criminal Sexual Act in the Third Degree and the existence of his prior misdemeanor and felony criminal history being discovered.
Assistant District Attorney D.J. Rosenbaum of DA Rice’s Special Victims Bureau is prosecuting the case regarding criminal sexual misconduct. Assistant District Attorney Christiana McSloy, deputy chief of DA Rice’s Public Corruption Bureau, is prosecuting the false filing case. O’Mard is represented by Deveraux Cannick, Esq. and Edward Jenks, Esq.