Retired teacher, announcer Rich Leaf seeks minimum sentence in federal child porn case
A retired Harrison teacher and acclaimed sports announcer whose child pornography conviction got him removed from the Westchester Sports Hall of Fame is seeking the minimum five-year prison term when he is sentenced Tuesday in federal court.
Richard Leaf, 76, apologized to former students and colleagues, his family, the teenagers he duped in online chat rooms, and everyone else he said he has let down in a six-page letter to U.S. District Judge Philip Halpern seeking leniency.
"It was not my intention to hurt anyone or ruin anyone's life," Leaf wrote. "I feel tremendous guilt that my selfish, irresponsible and unlawful behavior has caused so much mental pain and disappointment to so many people who loved and respected me."
But prosecutors want a prison term as long as 14 years, citing not just how he got a teenage boy to send him naked images online or the child pornography that was found on his computer. They point also to Leaf's own admissions that tarnish the stellar reputation he held as an educator ‒ that on dozens of occasions he hosted middle school boys for sleepovers, where he would often touch their backs and stomachs as they slept, occasionally masturbating as he did so.
Leaf, of Somers, spent 34 years at Louis M. Klein Middle School in Harrison, where he was a highly regarded "master" teacher and mentor, who for years organized school programs like the annual civics trip to Washington, D.C.
And he became even more well known regionally for his work in athletics that landed him in the Westchester Sports Hall of Fame in 2017, as a top soccer referee, the Iona College basketball announcer, the "Voice of the Westchester County Center" who called Section 1 basketball playoff games for more than three decades and the interviewer of the Con Ed Athlete of the Week.
The hall of fame committee stripped his name from the award last year shortly after he pleaded guilty to receiving child pornography.
Sentencing guidelines, which Halpern must consider but is not bound by, call for a prison term between 14 and 17 1/2 years. Probation recommended the minimum term, citing Leaf's age and lack of criminal history, and defense lawyer Michael Burke argued that would be the most appropriate sentence for Leaf.
According to court documents, Leaf targeted 15- and 16-year-olds as he posed as a blond teenager named Alex and Brandon on Skype, SnapChat and ChatAvenue. In one case he got a 15-year-old boy to send him a video of himself showering and masturbating.
"In these conversations the defendant not only asked for nude photos of but received nude photos from boys as young as 15 years old," Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Ong wrote in her sentencing submission, calling Leaf's actions "serious criminal conduct." "Indeed the defendants made these teenage boys believe that he was also a teenager ‒ not a man in his 70s ‒ and he took advantage of that fact."
Another aggravating factor for prosecutors was Leaf violating the bail conditions set when he was arrested in February 2021. Early the following year he bought an unauthorized iPad and accessed pornographic sites. His bond was revoked in August 2022 and he has been in custody ever since.
Burke wrote in his sentencing submission that Leaf's medical conditions and psychological treatment he has undergone since his arrest support the minimum sentence, which he said was by no means a "slap on the wrist." He emphasized that Leaf had not produced child pornography or sexually abused anyone. Regarding the sleepovers cited by prosecutors, Burke wrote that Leaf had a fetish for teenage boys' torsos, not their genitals, and that none of his behavior with those boys involved touching below the waist.
"This is a person who has shown by his prior conduct that he is not in need of incarceration to prevent him from engaging in criminal conduct," Burke wrote. "But for this offense his life has been a law abiding one. An individual with a low risk of recidivism does not need a lengthy incarceration for the protection of the public."
Leaf said he has found God in jail, immersing himself in prayer services and Bible study, and using his teaching skills to help fellow inmates study for GED exams or prepare court documents. He promised that if given a second chance "I will show the Court, and my country, that I can once again be a lawful, useful and exemplary member of the community in my remaining years."
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Richard Leaf seeks minimum sentencing in federal child porn case
