07/15/2006
The Saratogian (Saratoga, NY)
By JIM KINNEY
Regan's DNA to be added to system
BALLSTON SPA -- John Regan's DNA will soon be added to state and national databases so police can compare it with evidence left behind at unsolved crimes, Saratoga County District Attorney James A. Murphy III said Friday.
Regan, 49, was sentenced Thursday to 12 years in state prison for the attempted kidnapping of a 17-year-old girl at Saratoga High School. Police hope that, with the criminal case in New York complete, they can focus on linking Regan with unsolved crimes against women throughout at least New York and New England.
A Saratoga County Sheriff's deputy took Regan from the Saratoga County Jail to the state's Fishkill Correctional Facility in Beacon at 7:30 a.m. Friday.
Regan pleaded guilty in May to the attempted kidnapping of cross country star Lindsey Ferguson following running practice at Saratoga High School this past October.
She struggled to get away and was unhurt. But when city police caught up with Regan, they found a tarp, shovel, liquor and a rope tied in a slipknot in the van.
Police have said they feel Regan planned the crime and had done it before.
At the time, he was free on bail awaiting trial on two sex-assault cases in his native Waterbury, Conn.
He's since been charged with a third incident in Waterbury. All those charges are still pending.
Police have also accused Regan of taking pictures of women in parks and on the street without their knowledge. Police found photography equipment and pictures of women in Saratoga Springs in Regan's van following the kidnap attempt.
The attempted kidnapping conviction allows the state to take the DNA, Murphy said. Attempted kidnapping was a DNA crime even before the list of crimes that result in DNA collection was expanded.
According to the state's Web site, prison officials collect the sample by means of a mouth swab.
From Fishkill, Regan will likely go to a maximum-security prison like Sing Sing, Attica or Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora.
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