UTICA, ONEIDA CO. -- An Oneida County teenager has pleaded guilty, admitting he sexually assaulted and beat a toddler to death while babysitting the child.
Alec Champagne, 14, of Whitesboro, appeared in Oneida County Court Monday morning. He was charged with second degree murder in the death of two-year-old Melissa Calhoun of Yorkville.
Champagne now admits he beat and sexually assaulted the toddler while babysitting her and her younger sister in June. He said he struck her in the face with his hand, hit her head with a refrigerator door, and sexually abused her while changing her diaper. He was 13 at the time.
Investigators say Champagne initially changed his story several times. Champagne told police Calhoun was alive when he put her to bed.
The case will now be handled in Family Court since he was a juvenile at the time of the crime. Champagne now faces up to five years in a juvenile detention facility when he appears before a judge for sentencing.
