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A state appellate court Wednesday upheld the sentence of Michael Sansone, 33, a former Nanticoke volunteer firefighter convicted by a Luzerne County jury of endangering and unlawfully touching a minor.
				Sansone challenged his conviction and six-to-12-year state prison sentence claiming President Judge Michael T. Vough, who presided over the October 2018 trial, mistakenly denied the defense&rsquo;s request to disclose records from Children and Youth Services.
				According to Sansone&rsquo;s appeal, he believed the C&Y records, if Vough permitted his defense lawyer to introduce them during the trial, would have cleared him on all allegations. The records reflected that a girl Sansone was accused of sexually assaulting had watched pornography on the internet and would have gained knowledge to fabricate the allegations against him.
				Vough dismissed the C&Y records, prohibiting Sansone&rsquo;s attorney from using them at trial.
				Nanticoke police arrested Sansone in May 2016 alleging he abused a then 8-year-old girl and a then 10-year-old boy between July 2015 and April 2016.
				A jury deliberated nearly nine hours, finding Sansone guilty on charges of unlawful contact of a minor, corruption of minors and endangering the welfare of children.
				Sansone was acquitted on charges of rape of a child, aggravated indecent assault, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, and other counts of unlawful contact and child endangerment.
				Upon his release, Sansone will be required to register his address with state police for 25 years as a sexual offender.
				Sansone in his appeal said he believed Vough should have allowed the C&Y records during the trial and permit his attorney to question the girl if she watched pornography.
				&ldquo;We find (Sansone&rsquo;s) argument merit-less. Whether the trial court erred in determining that the CYS records did not contain exculpatory evidence is irrelevant,&rdquo; a three-member panel of the state Superior Court ruled.
				The Superior Court also noted Vough correctly stopped Sansone&rsquo;s attorney from questioning the girl about watching pornography during her testimony.

Child sex conviction upheld against former volunteer firefighter