LAKE CHARLES, La. (CN) - A former Calcasieu Parish first assistant district attorney pleaded guilty Wednesday to one count each of felony malfeasance in office and misdemeanor simple battery for groping a man in 2013, according to the district attorney's office.
Ronald Rossitto pleaded guilty to the charges stemming from a January 2013 incident in which he groped a man in his office after offering to help him get his driver's license reinstated.
"Rossitto gave the victim documentation needed for reinstatement and $100 cash for a reinstatement fee," the district attorney's office said. "Upon leaving, the victim reported Rossitto inappropriately touched him."
Louisiana Attorney General Buddy Caldwell issued a statement saying "As a public servant and an administrator of justice, Rossitto was expected to uphold the highest moral and ethical standards. Rossitto instead used his position of power to erode public trust and compromise the integrity of the justice system."
Judge H. Ward Fontenot of the 14th Judicial District Court sentenced Rossitto to a two-year suspended prison sentence with two years of active probation. The district attorney's office said Rossitto resigned from his position in September 2013, before pleading guilty to obscenity charges in Orleans Parish Court in New Orleans for similar allegations.
Rossitto's law license has been suspended indefinitely, according to the statement.
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