See followup stories HERE and HERE3-20-2010 New York:
A Hudson Falls teen who was serving a prison sentence for child sexual abuse hanged himself Friday in a state prison in Dutchess County, officials said.
Adam D. Wheeler's death came just weeks after he was paroled from state prison, but he was sent back because he didn't find a "suitable" residence after he was paroled, officials said.
Wheeler, 19, died at Downstate Correctional Facility, a maximum-security prison in Fishkill, where he was being held in recent weeks on a 2007 conviction for first-degree sexual abuse.
He was sentenced to 3 years in prison and 5 years on parole in that case, and was paroled in December.
But according to the state Division of Parole, he was charged with violating his parole because he did not find a residence that his parole officer approved of.
Carol Weaver, a spokeswoman for the Division of Parole, said the agency was working with the Washington County Department of Social Services to find some place for Wheeler to live, but parole officials did not believe he was cooperating with them.
He was returned to prison on Feb. 9, and would not have been eligible for release again until December.
Linda Foglia, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Correctional Services, acknowledged Wheeler's death occurred in Downstate Correctional Facility, but said she could not disclose the cause of death because of privacy rules.
But Hudson Falls Police, who investigated Wheeler's sexual abuse case, and the Washington County District Attorney's Office, who prosecuted the case, both said he hanged himself while in prison.
Wheeler was 16 when he was arrested in April 2007 on a charge of first-degree rape. He was accused of having sex with a 10-year-old girl with whom he was acquainted. He also was found to illegally have prescription the prescription drug Concerta, which is used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, when he was arrested.
He cut a plea deal that included a guilty plea to first-degree sexual abuse, a felony.
Wheeler was deemed a Level 2 sex offender when he was released. ..Source.. DON LEHMAN
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