By Philip Sean Curran, Staff Writer
Princeton animal control officer Saul “Nate” Barson posted $30,000 bail Tuesday to get out a Pennsylvania jail one day after being arrested and charged with committing sex crimes on a 13-year-old boy whom he had met through the Internet., Barson, 29, allegedly performed sex acts Feb. 3 on the boy, in his pickup truck, in a park in Solebury Township, Pennsylvania, authorities have alleged. He surrendered himself to Solebury Police, who arrested him Monday. He faces sexual assault and other charges that carry up to 71 years in prison., “This is a very serious case,” said deputy Bucks County District Attorney Chelsey Jackman, who is handling the matter., Barson has turned to Langhorne-based defense attorney Steven M. Jones to represent him., “The allegation’s obviously serious. He takes them very seriously,” Jones said Tuesday by phone. “We can’t comment on the charges in the active case.”, A date for a preliminary hearing before a judge still needs to be finalized., Barson was suspended from his $53,398-a-year job without pay, municipal administrator Marc D. Dashield has said. In his absence, the town will have Montgomery Township provide animal control through a shared service agreement., Asked if the town would look to fire Barson, Mayor Liz Lempert said Tuesday the town has made no decisions beyond giving him an unpaid suspension., She the town has “offered our full cooperation” to Solebury Police., “I don’t know the details of … what has been requested if anything at this point,” she said when asked if Pennsylvania authorities want to see any of Barson’s town-issued email and cell phone records., Barson lives at home with his adopted parents, Ray and Sharyn, in West Amwell, a Hunterdon County town located some 14 minutes away from where the alleged offense occurred. Ray Barson is an attorney with an office on Nassau Street, and serves as the municipal court judge in West Amwell. The elder Barson could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
