05/20/2006

The Saratogian (Saratoga, NY)
By JIM KINNEY

Regan pleads guilty

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY - In a surprise move, John F. Regan of Waterbury, Conn., pleaded guilty Friday to trying to drag a Saratoga Springs High School senior into his van following cross county practice on Halloween.

The plea to second-degree attempted kidnapping means Regan, now 49, will be sentenced to 12 years in state prison and five years of post-release supervision, according to District Attorney James A. Murphy III. The sentencing will be in July

The sentence is as tough as it would have been had he been convicted by a jury.

The plea averts a trial at which the victim, 17-year-old Lindsey Ferguson, would have testified against Regan. Evidentiary hearings in preparation for a trial were scheduled for Monday.

"Knowing I don't have to see him again makes me happy," Lindsey said from her home Friday evening. She was prepared to testify, she said, because "I want him to get what he deserves. I don't want him to do that to anyone else. Lindsey's parents, Chris and Gary Ferguson, watched Regan plead guilty in Saratoga County Court, then drove to the high school to tell their daughter, who was about to start cross country practice.

Lindsey is one of the top cross country runners in the nation, and recently accepted a full scholarship to Notre Dame.

"She is very, very pleased. Very relieved," her mother said about the guilty plea, adding that her daughter can enjoy tonight's prom with this incident behind her.

"This sends a message of deterrence," said District Attorney Murphy. "He must be removed from society. When this started, we promised the family there would be no plea bargains. It's a promise we made and a promise we kept."

Murphy said the guilty plea came as a surprise: "We were heading to trial when he pleaded guilty. I had witnesses subpoenaed and was ready for trial."

Saratoga Springs High School girls' cross country coach Linda Kranick commented Friday afternoon as the girls' team was at practice, saying, "What a great day. It's very gratifying. When we're done, we're going to have an ice cream cake."

The plea doesn't affect the charges of kidnapping, stalking and attempted sexual assault Regan still faces in Connecticut. If convicted there, he could get life in prison.

Lt. Michael Gugliotti of the Waterbury, Conn., Police Department said Friday's plea was good news.

"Saratoga Springs has a good police department and the district attorney did a good job," Gugliotti said. "It's good to know that the victim doesn't have to be put on the stand to testify."

Superintendent of Schools Dr. John MacFadden echoed Gugliotti, saying, "She can go on with the rest of her life now and rest knowing she did the right thing."

Until now, The Saratogian has not identified Lindsey Ferguson because she is crime victim. On Friday, she and her family were willing to speak up.

"She was ready to testify," Chris Ferguson said. "But no young girl should have to do that.

"This is our first time through the criminal justice system," she said before smiling and reaching out to touch Murphy's arm. "And, no offense, we really don't want to do it again."

It was about 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 31 after cross country practice that Regan - 5-foot-9 inches tall and 200 pounds - grabbed Lindsey from behind in the school parking lot.

"I was going to my car and I heard his van door slide open. I was getting ready to go into the driver's side and he grabbed me. He put his hand on my mouth. I moved enough to scream," Lindsey said, speaking about the incident for the first time for publication. "I kind of wiggled my way out of his grasp, and fell in the car and kind of kicked him to get away from my car."

She screamed and struggled. Coaches Art Kranick and Ray Harrington were quickly at the scene.

"Mr. Harrington was on the phone, getting down his license plate, and Mr. Kranick was in his car. He pulled up next to mine. My two friends Ashley and Cameron were with me," she said, referring to teammates Ashley Campbell and Cameron Verhanian.

Kranick took off after the van, and police apprehended Regan a few blocks away on Beekman Street.

"I was really shaken up and crying," Lindsey said.

"I am glad Mr. Harrington and Mr. Kranick were in the right place at the right time. I feel like I owe them a lot."

"She saved herself," said Linda Kranick, Art's wife and the head coach for the girls team, during Friday's practice. "But everyone else made sure he was captured. It's our training as teachers and coaches to take care of the kids. All those years of experience just clicked in."

"Art Kranick and Ray Harrington are the real heroes," said Saratoga Springs Police Chief Ed Moore.

Everyone was citing the tight-knit school community and cross country team in particular Friday. Moore likened the community to a mother bear with cubs.

"The laws of nature can sometimes apply to man," Moore said. "There are predators out there."

Linda Kranick praised Chief Moore and the department for their work on the case, saying this incident means Saratoga Springs is a safe place to live.

"People watch out for one another. There's a strong sense of community," she said. "Everyone is more aware of what could happen now."

She also complimented District Attorney Murphy and his staff, including Vicki Merola, who walked Lindsey through the process as a crime victim advocate. "Jim is a former student of mine, and I'm proud of him. They did a wonderful job," she said.

Chris Ferguson said she initially heard of the incident through a phone call from the mother of another distance runner.

"I thought it was a Halloween prank," she said. "I thought a bunch of seniors were trying to scare Lindsey. I was ready to go to the high school and yell at those boys."

But she knew something was wrong when she learned that Lindsey was already at the police station speaking with investigators.

All told, Murphy said he had 25 witnesses in the case, coaches, athletes Lindsey, and others who had seen what happened.

Those witnesses are a big part of why Regan decided to plea, according to his attorney, E. Stewart Jones of Troy.

"You can't challenge the kinds of witnesses: coaches, teachers, an all-American track star," Jones said Friday by phone. "He had nowhere to go."

According to papers filed for Regan by Jones, Regan said he was in town to work on the home of a relative. He pulled into the parking lot to use his phone and opened the back door of the van he was driving so he could get some maps.

Regan had told police he noticed a girl startle, then he drove away.

Regan still faces charges in Connecticut. At the time of the Saratoga Springs kidnap attempt, Regan was free on bail for two incidents in his hometown of Waterbury. He allegedly cut the phone lines to a woman's house in 1993, then broke in, bound, gagged and raped her. He's also accused of raping a co-worker in 2004.

Police in Waterbury charged him with kidnapping in the 1993 incident after getting DNA from him in the 2004 case and matching it to evidence from 1993. But the statute of limitation on rape had passed.

After the arrest in Saratoga Springs, police in Waterbury also charged Regan with stalking there, saying he'd taken pictures of the alleged victim in the 2004 case.

"This is the first step, I believe, toward resolving matters involving Mr. Regan," said Jones, Regan's defense attorney. "The case in New York is by far the strongest."

Jones is not licensed in Connecticut, but said he is working with attorneys there on Regan's behalf.

Robin Lipskey of the State Attorney's Office in Waterbury said, "We will not drop his case here at all. There's an outstanding warrant still to be served on him."

After Regan's sentencing, which is set for mid-July, he most likely will be transported back to Connecticut for court dates, she said.

Moore described Regan as an organized offender. He had removed the back seat of his van, and had ropes pre-tied into slipknots. He had a blue tarp laid out.

"He'd done this before. He had a plan," Moore said. "He was looking for an athletic young girl. He found one that was a little to much for him to handle, thank God."

Moore wouldn't speculate as to what Regan was planning to do next. "It wouldn't be fair," Moore said. "Only he knows what he would have done."

Moore said he doesn't think Regan targeted Lindsey.

Gary Ferguson said his daughter has changed. She's more aware of her surroundings now. He described an incident a few months ago when they were together. Something made a loud, sudden noise.

"She jumped," he said. "She wouldn't have done that before."

Friday was the first time Gary Ferguson had seen Regan in person.

Chris Ferguson said she spoke with her daughter recently, hoping to go though the details of that night. She was afraid her daughter's memory was getting cloudy and she would have trouble testifying.

"She told me, 'Mom, I'll never forget that night as long as I live.' "

But she did not dwell on the incident.

"I have running and that helps me get my mind off a lot of things," Lindsey said. "I have a family and coaches who support me and who are awesome, and a lot of friends, and that helps a lot."

Gary Ferguson said it will mean a lot to have Regan behind bars.

"He's just one guy that we've gotten off the streets," said Ferguson, a banker. "Unfortunately, there are so many more of them out there."

The Fergusons praised the school for adding security measures such as a closed-circuit security camera and additional off-duty police.

"We learned a lot," Superintendent MacFadden said. "The community, school district, personal security, site security, school security and civic responsibility are all ingredients to a positive nature out of a negative circumstance."

Murphy said the sentences are relatively low because Lindsey thwarted the kidnapping, making it an attempt and not a full kidnapping. He's long advocated for Suzanne's Law, which would bring higher penalties to any assault, kidnapping or kidnapping attempt that would take place on school grounds.

State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno said the GOP-led Senate passes Suzanne's Law each year. The Assembly, which is dominated by Democrats, has not passed it, however.

"You would think cases like this would highlight it," Bruno said Friday night. "Suzanne Lyall, other cases. But it hasn't happened. We've tried deals."

The law is named for Suzanne Lyall of Ballston Spa, who disappeared from the University at Albany in 1998 and is still missing.

Managing Editor Barbara Lombardo, City Editor Connie Jenkins and reporter Nicholas Derasmo contributed to this article.