
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, February 8, 1994                   TAG: 9402080192
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: By LAURENCE HAMMACK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

FORMER COUNSELOR INDICTED

A former high school counselor accused of having sex with a 13-year-old student was charged Monday with making false statements on an application to purchase two handguns.

John Canty was named in an indictment returned by a grand jury in Roanoke Circuit Court.

Canty - a former dropout-prevention counselor and junior varsity football coach at William Fleming High School - is awaiting trial on a charge of statutory rape.

The latest indictment alleges that Canty, 34, did not report the pending rape charge as part of a criminal background check required for the purchase of handguns.

The charge stems from the attempted purchase of a .22-caliber pistol and a .357-semiautomatic handgun from a pawn shop in downtown Roanoke in November, according to Chief Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Betty Jo Anthony.

Canty allegedly answered "no" to a question asking if he had ever been convicted of a felony or if he had an indictment pending.

A trial on the statutory rape charge had been scheduled for last week, but was postponed to March 22. Canty is accused of having sex with the student in 1992 at his Roanoke home, where he had taken her as part of his efforts to persuade her to stay in school.

He faces the same sentence - up to 10 years in prison - on both the rape and the gun charges.

Following his indictment last March on the rape charge, Canty was suspended from his job. The Roanoke School Board later voted not to renew his contract.

Canty has suggested that the rape charge was an attempt to destroy his credibility.

In 1990, Canty accused city police of using excessive force against him, sparking community complaints against the Police Department and calls for a federal investigation.

The allegations were one reason for the creation of a city task force that pushed for better community relations by the Police Department and stepped-up efforts to recruit minority police officers.

by CNB