Former Brookline Fire Chief McConnell found guilty of sodomy, rape

Larry McConnell, a former fire chief of the Brookline Fire Protection District, was found guilty of three counts of second-degree statutory sodomy and one count of second-degree rape at a bench trial at the Greene County Justice Center on Friday, Nov. 8.
According to the judgement filed in the case, the victim testified that McConnell, now 70, had oral sex with her before she turned 17, and that he had sexual intercourse with her after she turned 17, but she had told him “No” the first time it happened. The judgement also stated that McConnell had several hundred social contacts with the victim, told her once she turned 17, they could have legal sexual intercourse, and stated the victim also gave specific testimony about the incidents between her and McConnell.
According to the grand-jury indictment in the case, McConnell was charged with having deviate sexual intercourse with the victim between Sept. 1, 2015 and March 1, 2016, and he was charged with raping her between March 2, 2016 and April 30, 2017.
McConnell was indicted on the charges on June 14, 2018. An arrest warrant was issued the following day, and McConnell was taken into custody on June 20. He was released after posting a $25,000 bond on June 22, 2018 and remained free until the day of the bench trial; his bond was revoked and he was remanded to the custody at the Greene County Justice Center after being found guilty of all four counts.
A new bond of $50,000 was set for McConnell; conditions for his release included: no contact with  the victim or any member of the victim’s family, nor knowingly be within 1,000 feet of their home, place of employment, nor place of education; no contact with any children under the age of 17 and not be on any park, playground, school, daycare, recreational facility, or any other place children congregate.
McConnell is also prohibited from being the fire chief of Brookline. He had been fire chief of the Brookline Fire Protection District since 1999.
McConnell is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 24, 2020.