Man accused of molesting girls to stand trial
By Steven Cook
Gazette Reporter
August 23, 2000
FONDA _ The trial of a Fultonville ice cream truck driver charged with sexually molesting
one girl and trying to molest another is scheduled to begin today in Montgomery County
Court.
John E. Snyder, of Dahlius Lane, who pleaded innocent in March, is charged with first-degree sexual abuse, attempted first-degree sexual abuse and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child.
The trial is expected to last three days, District Attorney James Conboy said, though Snyder still has the option to enter a plea.
Police have said Snyder sold ice cream last summer in the area and drove a school bus. The district for which Snyder drove a bus could not be determined Tuesday.
Snyder has been held in the Montgomery County Jail on $50,000 bail since his arrest in December.
Snyder was arrested after the incidents were brought to the attention of authorities during late fall, Conboy said.
Conboy said he has offered to drop the other charges in exchange for a guilty plea on the first-degree sexual abuse charge.
Police accused Snyder of luring an 8-year-old girl into an ice cream truck he was driving last summer after she said she had no money. Once he got her into the truck, he molested her, police say.
In another instance, Snyder is accused of touching the leg of a 7-year-old girl.
She was able to run away before anything further happened, Conboy said.
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