By Philip Sean Curran, Staff Writer
Princeton animal control officer Saul “Nate” Barson, accused last week of committing sex crimes on a 13-year-old boy in early February, handled crossing guard duty for the municipality on a backup basis during the times of the day when school-age children would be out on the streets, the municipality said Monday., The town was unable to say when the last time Barson did that responsibility or what routes he was posted at. Town administrator Marc D. Dashield said the municipality last week had notified Superintendent of Schools Stephen C. Cochrane that criminal charges had been filed against Barson and that Barson had handled crossing guard duties., It is not unusual for town employees in various departments to do that kind of work, town officials said., This comes as the town also disclosed Monday that it had started reviewing Barson’s computer materials, “to determine if anything is there,” Dashield said., “We’re currently reviewing any materials that he has. We’re going through that process right now,” Dashield said at Mayor Liz Lempert’s press conference., He said the probe is being done by the municipality, not law enforcement., The Princeton Packet has filed a public records request for Barson’s emails and text messages starting in January to right up to when he was arrested., Barson, 29, a municipal employee since July 2015, has been accused of committing sex crimes on a boy, in Pat Livezey Park, in Solebury Township, Pennsylvania, Bucks County. Authorities have claimed that he met the youth over the Internet and had the encounter inside his pickup truck on Feb.3 shortly before 7 p.m. The vehicle was not Barson’s town-issued truck, authorities have said., The park is located about four miles away from where Barson lives in West Amwell, Hunterdon County., He surrendered to Solebury Police and was arrested Feb.20 and charged with involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, statutory sexual assault, sexual assault and other charges that carry a maximum of 71 years in prison. He has posted bail, was suspended from his $53,398-a-year-job without pay, and is due in a Pennsylvania district court on April 3 for a preliminary hearing., Barson went through a pre-employment background check that found he had no criminal record, the town has said., Pennsylvania authorities have not disclosed if the boy is the same 13-year-old who was sexually assaulted by a different man, in the same park, in January.
