Scotia Man Sentenced for Groping a Nursing Student at Stratton VA

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Danning Lake, age 87, of Scotia, New York, was sentenced to 1 year of probation today for abusive sexual contact.

United States Attorney John A. Sarcone III; Thomas Gibbons, Chief of the Department of Veterans Affairs Police at the Stratton VA Medical Center; and Special Agent in Charge Christopher F. Algieri, of the Northeast Field Office for the United States Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General, made the announcement.

Lake admitted that he grabbed the breast of a nursing student at the Stratton VA as she was giving him care on February 29, 2024.  Lake then asked the student nurse, “did you like that?” and told her “they feel nice.”  When the Veterans Affairs Police Officer spoke to Lake, he said that he would do the same thing again if he had the opportunity.  Lake acknowledged that his mental status was not altered by medication, age, or illness and that he groped the nursing student for his own sexual gratification.  As a result of this conviction, Lake must register as a sex offender. 

The Department of Veterans Affairs Police Department and Office of Inspector General investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jonathan S. Reiner and Tamara B. Thomson prosecuted.