Ex-Erie County Democratic Chairman Steve Pigeon will register as level 1 sex offender
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BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) -- Former Erie County Democratic Committee Chairman Steve Pigeon will have to register as a level one sex offender when he is released from custody, which was determined during a Sex Offender Registration Act hearing Wednesday morning.
Pigeon was sentenced to one year in jail for sexually abusing a 9-year-old girl, who was known to him, between November and December 2016. He pleaded guilty to a first-degree sexual abuse charge last November before being sentenced in December.
The 63-year-old was designated as a sexually violent offender and will register upon the completion of his time in jail. It's required that his sex offender registration remain for the rest of his life in accordance with his November plea deal.
A level one sex offender status means he carries a low risk of being a repeat offender.
His original sentence of 364 days was reduced due to good behavior and he is scheduled to be released from jail Aug. 15. Upon release, Pigeon will remain on probation for a couple of months.
Pigeon has served time in the past for an illegal political donation and for bribing a state Supreme Court judge.
Pigeon served as the Erie County Democratic Committee chairman from 1996 to 2002 and has since been a major player in Western New York politics until he began facing charges.
Adam Gorski is a Buffalo native who joined the WIVB News 4 team in 2022. You can find more of his work here.
Trina Catterson joined the News 4 team in 2024. She previously worked at WETM-TV in Elmira, a sister station of WIVB. See more of her work here.