5 day forecast
Ex-Pittsburgh police officer Skweres pleads guilty in sexual assaults
Share with others:
A former Pittsburgh police officer pleaded guilty this morning to 26 counts accusing him of sexually assaulting five women he encountered while working.
Adam Skweres, 35, of Lincoln Place, was sentenced to 3 1/2 to eight years in prison to be followed by 10 years probation. He will also have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.
Skweres, who was immediately taken into custody, took the plea because of the prospect of as much as 86 1/2 to 173 years in prison if convicted on all counts, defense attorney Phil DiLucente said.
"This plea deal was recommended only because, if he was found guilty on just one of these, Judge Cashman could have sentenced him to five to 10 years," the lawyer said. "It was too much of a risk to take it to trial. There's no better way to say it."
The plea included eight felony counts, including attempted rape and involuntary deviate sexual intercourse.
No victims testified, and Skweres said only that he was pleading guilty "because I am guilty, your honor."
Skweres, who also served in the Army Reserves, was an officer for 4 1/2 years and worked in the city's Zone 3 station. Some of the charges against him dated to 2008.
First Published March 11, 2013 11:05 am
