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By P. DOUGLAS FILAROSKI; Times Leader Staff Writer
 Wednesday, February 11, 1998 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 3A 





PLAINS TWP.- Bob Balent impresses neighbors as a "nice boy," who, although
not overly friendly, works hard, cares for his mother, and takes great pride
in his physique. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 He's not the deviant police say paid boys for oral sex. And he's certainly
not the killer authorities think might exist, neighbors said Tuesday. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "Of all the people who live around here, he'd be the last one to do
anything like this," said Sandy Petroski, who lives next to Balent in one of
the homes tightly spaced on Warner Street. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 To Petroski, Balent is the guy her 8-year-old daughter admires. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "She thinks he's cool because he's always working out at the gym," she
said. "If I ever believed he was involved in anything, I wouldn't be living
here." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Police see him another way. They charged the muscular, 37-year-old truck
driver with the felony charge of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse after
he allegedly admitted to paying four 14-and 15-year-old boys to perform oral
sex on him in early 1995. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 One of the boys, Joshua Fogarty of Hanover Township, was reported missing
about the same time. He was discovered dead seven months later in the
Susquehanna River, near where the alleged sex acts occurred. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Police have not called Balent a suspect, but said they are looking into
whether there is a connection. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Balent, who was released Tuesday from the Luzerne County Correctional
Facility after posting $100,000 bail, has denied any involvement in Fogarty's
death. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The father of one alleged victim said Tuesday he's angry Balent was
released after admitting to sex acts with his son. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Other neighbors on Warner Street, where Balent lives, said they don't know
what to believe. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Everybody's shocked," Elizabeth Kozich said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Kozich's husband, John, served in the military with Balent's father, who
died in 1989. For years, the two were next-door neighbors, until Kozich
married and moved across the street. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 In the years since his father died, Balent has lived with his mother in the
white, two-story home, which has a cross on the front door. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "He's good to her. He takes her anywhere she wants to go," Elizabeth Kozich
said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Balent drives a white rig, which was parked Tuesday near the home, and
hauls junk to a landfill, John Kozich said. "He works hard driving that
thing." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 He works out at a l

Sex Abuse Suspect Praised By His Neighbors Bob Balent, 37, Is Charged With Involuntary Deviate Sexual Intercourse