David Andreatta

@david_andreatta

The Pittsford man whose shove of an autistic cross-country runner in Cobb's Hill Park last month touched off nationwide debates about civility and racism pleaded guilty Thursday to a charge of second-degree harassment, and a new charge of endangering the welfare of a child.

Martin MacDonald, 57, was ordered to return to court on Jan. 17 for sentencing.

The guilty plea came a week after Rochester City Court Judge Ellen Yacknin offered MacDonald a plea deal on the harassment charge of 120 hours of community service and enrolling in an anger management program, and granted a request by his lawyer to consider the deal.

MacDonald had originally pleaded not guilty to the charge, although police reports of his altercation with 15-year-old Chase Coleman indicated that MacDonald acknowledged pushing the youth to the ground.

But in the interim the prosecution brought the child endangerment charge, a misdemeanor, to accompany the harassment charge, which is a violation. The prosecutor asked the court for three years of probation and a five-year order of protection.

Yacknin promised to cap MacDonald's sentence at probation or less and the order of protection if she finds that MacDonald's claims about his prior criminal history are consistent with his record. MacDonald claimed to have been convicted of drunken driving in the recent past.

"If there is anything else on your record other than the DWI…all bets are off," said Yacknin, noting that she could impose a jail sentence of up to a year.

MacDonald and Coleman encountered each other in the park on Oct. 14 as Coleman, who is from Syracuse, was attempting to finish a 3.1-mile cross-country race. Coleman was running for his school, Corcoran High School, and was lagging far behind the rest of the field of runners.

Coleman's mother, Clarise Coleman, has said she believes her son, who has difficulty communicating and repeats words that others speak to him, got lost on the route and turned to MacDonald for help.

The police reports showed that MacDonald told police he thought Coleman was on drugs and mocking him when he pushed him. The shove was witnessed by two passers-by, both of whom described MacDonald as shouting, "Get out of here," to Coleman.

MacDonald purportedly told police that his car had recently been burglarized and that he feared Coleman might try to mug him and his wife, who was nearby in their car.

Under questioning by the judge, MacDonald acknowledged shoving Coleman and knowing that doing so could cause him injury. He said he did not know at the time that Coleman was under 17 years of age.

DANDREATTA@Gannett.com

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