FROM: HOLLEY CARNRIGHT
DATE: APRIL 17, 2017
RE: PRESS RELEASE – TROY A. SWARTZ
ULSTER COUNTY JURY CONVICTS KINGSTON MAN FOR SEXUAL
ABUSE AND STRANGULATION
Following a four day trial, an Ulster
County Jury of six men and six women returned verdicts of guilty of Sexual
Assault in the first degree and Strangulation in the second degree, and not
guilty verdicts of Burglary (two counts) against Troy A. Swartz, age 45,
formerly of 121 Clinton Avenue, Kingston, New York. Following the verdicts Swartz was remanded to
the Ulster County Jail by Judge Donald A. Williams pending sentencing on June
17, 2015.
The charges stemmed from an
incident on January 8, 2014 at the victim’s apartment in midtown Kingston. Swartz was accused of forcing his way into
the apartment and sexually assaulting and strangling the victim. Following the assault Swartz stole money and
other personal items before leaving the victim’s apartment. The victim immediately fled to a neighbor who
called 911.
When questioned during the investigation,
Swartz denied being in Kingston or nearby on the date and at the time of the
crime. Subsequent analysis of DNA samples collected from the victim’s breasts
and fingernails led to his arrest in April of 2014 and a four count indictment
the following July. The victim was a 27 year old Kingston woman who had moved
into a multiple dwelling house where the defendant used to live. She suffered
some injuries from the attack and was taken by ambulance to Kingston Hospital
where she underwent a sexual assault examination by a special nurse and was
treated for her injuries.
The defendant did not testify at
trial.
Both convictions are Class D
felonies which carry a sentence of up to seven years in state prison. The defendant has a lengthy criminal record
which includes three previous convictions for Burglary, one of which involved a
sexual assault eerily similar to the case at Bar, and has spent much of his
adult life in prison.
The defendant was represented by
MariAnn Connolly of the Ulster County Public Defender’s Office. The case was prosecuted
by Sr. Assistant District Attorney Emmanuel Nneji.
