10/27/2006

The Saratogian (Saratoga, NY)
By BEN CONERY

Kidnapper gets 3 more years

WATERBURY, Conn. - A man who admitted to trying to kidnap a 17-year-old girl outside Saratoga Springs High School last year was sentenced to 15 years in prison Thursday after pleading guilty to a separate kidnapping case in Connecticut.

John Regan, 49, a married father of three from Waterbury, pleaded guilty to kidnapping, stalking and unlawful restraint. He pleaded guilty under the Alford doctrine. Under the Alford doctrine, he does not admit guilt but concedes prosecutors have enough evidence for a conviction.

The plea agreement calls for a 15-year sentence to run simultaneously with the 12-year sentence he is already serving for trying to abduct Saratoga Springs cross-country star Lindsey Ferguson after running practice, effectively adding three years to his sentence.

Gary Ferguson, Lindsey's father, wanted Regan's jail time on the Connecticut charges to begin after his New York sentence, not at the same time.

'I can say I'm pretty disappointed in the Connecticut system,' said Ferguson said Thursday. 'In essence, he beat the system. I'm discouraged.'

Regan tried to pull Lindsey Ferguson into his van. She fought him off and got away while two coaches tried to slow Regan's flight. Police later caught Regan on Beekman Street.

At the time, he was free on bail after being charged in October 2004 in a decade-old sexual assault case in Waterbury. The statute of limitations on sexual assault had run out, so he was charged with kidnapping because he allegedly bound the victim after slipping into her home while she was sleeping.

Police in Waterbury botched that case and the victim later won a lawsuit against the department.

Saratoga County District Attorney James A. Murphy III helped Connecticut authorities with their case.

'I recognize that there were some serious issues that Connecticut had, namely with the statute of limitations,' Murphy said.

After 1998, the rape case could no longer be prosecuted. Kidnapping requires transportation of the victim.

'They had difficulty because he raped her in her own bed. The didn't take her anywhere,' Murphy said.

Murphy said Regan's New York defense attorney, E. Stewart Jones of Troy, tried to get Murphy to agree to concurrent sentences.

'I simply wouldn't do it,' Murphy said. 'I wouldn't budge on that issue. Now Connecticut can obviously do whatever it wants.'

Connecticut police started looking at Regan in connection with the 1993 case after he was accused of assaulting a 21-year-old co-worker at the building supply company where he worked.

He faced 35 years in prison for the Connecticut charges.

'I think it was the best sentence under all the circumstances,' Waterbury, Conn., State's Attorney John Connelly said after the hearing in Waterbury Superior Court on Thursday. 'I think it was a fair resolution to a case that's been around since 1993.'

Saratoga Springs Police Chief Edward Moore said he too was disappointed that Regan won't be doing more time. But he referred to the time that's passed since 1993 and the rape and the time it took to identify Regan through DNA taken in the 2004 case.

'I'm sure the prosecutors in Connecticut did the best they could with the case they had,' Moore said. 'It is only 15 years. But it is 15 years that we can breathe a little easier. He's a predator.'

Moore referenced what police found in Regan's van soon after the kidnapping attempt in Saratoga Springs nearly a year ago. Police found a rope tied in a slipknot, tools including a shovel, a tarp, liquor and camera equipment in the van.

'If for no other reason than that, I believe this wasn't the first time this individual had done something like this,' Moore said. 'Now that these cases are complete, it's important that law enforcement has a sit-down conversation with Mr. Regan. He might have some information to share as other people have done who are incarcerated.'

Moore said he hopes that Regan can bring some closure to the families if Regan has other victims. Regan didn't talk with city police. Police all over the country, but particularly in the northeast, have looked at Regan in connection with missing-woman cases. Nothing has come of those investigations yet.

Regan, who did not speak during the hearing, was to return Friday to the maximum security prison in New York where he is serving the first part of his sentence. When the 12 years are up, he will return to Connecticut to serve the rest.

'These charges are puzzling to everyone who knows and supports John Regan,' said his attorney, Hubert Santos, adding that Regan's family did not attend the hearing because of the intense media interest in the case. 'John's family loves, supports and believes in him 100 percent,' Santos said.

Regan comes from a prominent family in Waterbury. His brother is an attorney at a Washington, D.C. firm, his father is a dentist and there is a school named for his grandfather.

The victim of the 1993 assault spoke during the hearing, while the co-worker who was assaulted provided a letter that was read aloud.

'I pray he is never given the opportunity or ability to harm another person for the rest of his life,' said the woman who was assaulted in 1993.

-- The AP contributed to this report