By Philip Sean Curran, Staff Writer
Former Princeton animal control officer Saul “Nate” Barson, facing sex crime and other charges involving a minor in Pennsylvania, accepted a deal from authorities that keeps him out of prison and means he will not be a Megan’s law sex offender.
The case resolved itself Monday, the same day that his trial was scheduled to begin in Bucks County, before Judge Raymond F. McHugh. Authorities accused Barson, then 29, of sex crimes last year involving a then-13-year-old boy whom he allegedly had met over the internet. He faced multiple years in prison if found guilty.
But instead, Barson pleaded no contest to a first-degree misdemeanor of corruption of minors, the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office said Monday. He was sentenced to five years’ probation, must perform 500 hours of community service, undergo sex offender treatment and meet other conditions that include not having a Snapchat account, Bucks County Deputy District Attorney Kate Kohler said by phone Monday.
“He won’t be a registered Megan’s law offender, he’s going to be on probation,” said Steven M. Jones, his lawyer. “He’s happy to move on from it.”
Barson, 30, had faced the prospect of a much longer prison term had he been found guilty at trial. He had been charged with sexual assault and related offenses stemming from an alleged incident at a park in Solebury Township, Pennsylvania, on Feb.3 2017.
At a hearing in March, the boy testified that in an effort to make friends, he downloaded a hookup app for gay and bisexual men, where he came across Barson’s account. The two allegedly corresponded through Snapchat, the boy had claimed, and agreed to meet in Pat Livezey Park, not far from where Barson resided in Hunterdon County.
Authorities alleged the two had sex in Barson’s truck. He was later arrested and charged. The town initially suspended him from his $53,398-a-year-job that he had held since July 2015, and then later fired him. Coincidentally, the Princeton Council was scheduled Monday to appoint his replacement.
Mayor Liz Lempert had no comment Monday.