Bethany Official Resigns After Former Town Employee's Arrest: Reports

BETHANY, CT — The town of Bethany's Parks and Recreation director has resigned and two other officials were placed on leave in the wake of a string of child sexual assault allegations against a former town employee and camp counselor, according to multiple reports.

The director, Janice Howard, was initially placed on leave along with assistant director and summer camp director Anthony Cofrancesco Wednesday before announcing her resignation later in the evening, FOX61 reported.

Howard is the cousin and Cofrancesco is the nephew of Bethany's first selectwoman Paula Cofrancesco, who announced their resignations, according to the Stamford Advocate.

The reasons behind the resignation and the administrative leave placements have not been revealed. However, residents and victims' families have expressed anger over the long period between the allegations against the man, 25-year-old Anthony Mastrangelo, coming to light in Dec. 2022 and parents in the community being informed of the ongoing sexual assault investigation, FOX61 reported.

Mastrangelo, 25, was arrested on four warrants on June 25, according to state police. He was charged with three counts of risk of injury to a minor, four counts of fourth-degree sexual assault, first-degree sexual assault, and illegal sexual contact with a victim under 16 years old. Mastrangelo was released on a total of $500,000 bond.

Confrancesco took some responsibility Wednesday for the town's failure to notice and address "a culture within our local government that existed for decades," according to the Stanford Advocate.

"I wrongly assumed there were no issues with our Parks and Rec Department because things were working without any known complaint," Cofrancesco added, in part. "The failure to perform our functions in accordance with the law and to remain compliant — exposed all of us being harmed by someone with ill intention under our misguided belief something like this could never happen in our small town."

Patch reached out to Connecticut State Police for more information.