Theodore Sypnier, 90, of Tonawanda collapsed as he was being led from court after being sentenced to 10 years in prison. Sypnier pleaded guilty to charges he raped and sexually molested a group of young girls. He had pleaded guilty to every count in a 15-count indictment, including charges of rape, sodomy and use of a child in a sexual performance. Sypnier allegedly raped and molested the girls, whose ages were between 4 and 10 at the time in Buffalo and Tonawanda, his homes in a suburb to the north of the city during the fall of 1998 and the spring of 1999.

Submitted on: 02/03/00