Phillip Giordano, the mayor of the city Waterbury, Conn., is being held in a jail in upstate New York, reports the Associated Press.
Giordano was charged on July 26 of using an interstate facilities to lure a minor to sexual acts and conspiracy to do so. The federal sex charges involve two minors, ages nine and 10.
The mayor is now being held without bail in the prison, and is awaiting a grand jury decision, which will either indict him or rule that there is not sufficient evidence to hold Giordano under those charges.
The Associated Press reportes that the prison in which Giordano is being held, is a undisclosed 124-bed jail in New York. The jail, which is managed by the county sheriff’s department, is home to those in the county who cannot post bail or are sentenced to less than one year in jail.
William Sayegh, a defense lawyer in Carmel, told the AP that the jail has a “very cushy environment.”
“If you were to be in jail anywhere, you’d want to be in that one,” said Sayegh. “Nobody gets hurt or raped in there.” According to the Associated Press, inmates charged with sex crimes “are often the target of assaults in prisons.”
Mayor Giordano’s lawyer, Andrew Bowman, visited him at the jail on Tuesday, August 28, and signed an agreement that allows Giordano to keep his mayorial title, benefits, and half of his salary.
However, all mayoral powers have been taken away from him. Meanwhile, Sam Caligiuri is serving as acting Mayor of Waterbury.
The mother of one of the two minors believed to have been involved in the case was arrested days before Giordano was arrested. It is believed that she permitted Giordano to have sexual contact with her daughter and also her niece.
According to the Hartford Courant, the woman, who is being referred to as “Jane Doe,” has been charged with being an accessory to the crime. The two children were placed in protective custody by the state of Connecticut’s Department of Children and Families.
Mayor Giordano is married with three children. The federal charges with which he is faced carry a maximum of ten years in prison.