Gang Rape Figure Admits Guilt, to Testify Against 4

One of the five men charged with gang-raping a drunk, unconscious woman at a restaurant four years ago pleaded guilty to sexual abuse on Tuesday and will testify against the other defendants.

In return, prosecutors agreed to recommend probation for Gregory Streeter, who faced up to 25 years in prison on a first-degree rape charge.

The victim, Krista Absalon, feels vindicated now that one of the men has admitted committing a violent felony, said her attorney, Bonnie Strunk.

The five men initially faced only community service and $750 fines after a prosecutor allowed them to plead guilty to misdemeanor charges of sexual misconduct in 1993.

Dist. Atty. Richard Manning said then that he lacked the evidence to convict, but women’s rights groups were outraged after Absalon went public with her opposition to the plea bargain.

Then-Gov. Mario M. Cuomo appointed a special prosecutor, who eventually determined that felony rape charges had been illegally dismissed. The charges were reinstated by St. Lawrence County Court Judge Eugene Nicandri last year, and the state court of appeals refused to overrule him.

On Tuesday, Streeter admitted to Nicandri that he had sex with Absalon on Oct. 26, 1991, at the Casablanca Restaurant in Gouverneur, just south of the Canadian border. He’ll be sentenced after the other four face trial.

David Cummings, Mariano G. Pistolesi, Mark A. Hartle and Michael Curcio also are accused of having sex with Absalon, who had passed out in the restroom after an evening of drinking.

A week later, Absalon said she learned the men had dragged her from the restroom, stripped her and taken turns having sex with her in a restaurant booth.

Absalon, 27, left the courtroom without commenting Tuesday because of the pending trials and her $4-million civil lawsuit against the defendants, Strunk said.

Assistant Atty. Gen. Nancy Snider wouldn’t say whether plea bargains are possible with the others, but Strunk said Absalon would be satisfied if they admitted the felonies, even if they don’t go to jail.