Syracuse, NY -- Less than three weeks after being sentenced for having oral sex in a group home, a former special needs counselor was accused of violating probation.
Markeem Chaplin was spared state prison for 10 years of probation after pleading guilty to criminal sexual act involving a 16-year-old group home resident last year.
His Feb. 21 sentencing was delayed twice by Judge Thomas J. Miller's concerns that Chaplin was not taking responsibility for his actions.
Chaplin, of South Avenue, Syracuse, was working for Toomey Residential and Community Services when he engaged in oral sex with the teenage girl in a Camillus group home.
After pleading guilty, Chaplin told authorities he was falsely accused and innocent.
His refusal to admit what he'd done apparently continued after sentencing, according to accusations by the county probation's department.
In his first meeting with a probation officer, Chaplin refused to talk about the crime or discuss his future plans and goals in life, the judge said, based on the complaint. Chaplin also refused to participate in a sex offender treatment program.
In response, Chaplin told the judge he'd recently lost a family member and didn't feel like talking to a probation officer the day of the meeting.
"I didn't want to talk about it," Chaplin said in court. "I just wanted to move forward with the probation process."
Chaplin said he was looking for a job and trying to get money for college. "It's not like I'm not doing anything," he said.
The judge gave Chaplin until March 18 to work things out with probation. If the judge gets another bad report, he promised to take Chaplin into custody.
If he's convicted of violating probation, Chaplin could spend several years in state prison. He is a registered Level II sex offender.