Ballston Spa man pleads guilty in 2023 Moreau Lake State Park kidnapping case

BALLSTON SPA, N.Y. — The man accused of kidnapping a 9-year-old Greenfield girl from Moreau Lake State Park in September pleaded guilty to charges related to kidnapping and predatory sexual assault against a child.

Saratoga County District Attorney Karen Heggen said Craig N. Ross, Jr., 46, of Ballston Spa, pleaded guilty to first-degree kidnapping, and Predatory Sexual Assault Against a Child regarding his acts in the Town of Milton during the period of Sept. 30, 2023, through Oct. 2, 2023.

On the evening of Sept. 30, 2023, Ross was accused of abducting a girl from Moreau Lake State Park. A massive search ended two days later when state police troopers and an FBI SWAT team stormed a camper Ross was staying in. Rescuers found the victim in a cabinet.

The break in the case came after officers stationed at the victim’s home saw someone drop a ransom note in the family’s mailbox before dawn. State police matched fingerprints on the note to Ross, who was in a Saratoga Springs Police Department database because of a 1999 drunken driving case.

Ross was arraigned in November on a nine-count indictment by Saratoga County Court Judge James A. Murphy, III. Through his attorney, George Conway, Esq., Ross pleaded not guilty at the arraignment. Ross was charged with first-degree kidnapping (a Class A-I felony), four counts of predatory sexual assault against a child, (a Class A-II felony), two counts of first-degree sexual abuse (a Class D violent felony), second-degree assault (a Class D violent felony), and endangering the welfare of a child, (a Class A misdemeanor).

Heggen said Ross appeared before Murphy with his attorney, Saratoga County Conflict Defender Matthew Maiello, and admitted to kidnapping a child and having engaged in sexual intercourse with the child, who was less than thirteen years old. This plea was taken in recognition of all of the nine charges filed by a Saratoga County Grand Jury in November.

Special Victims Unit Bureau Chief Jennifer L. Buckley headed the prosecution, along with Assistant District Attorney Mary T. Northrup.

Buckley set forth on the record before Murphy that with the guilty pleas of Ross, the prosecution recommends that Ross be sentenced to 25 years to life for the kidnapping charge and 22 years to life for the Predatory Sexual Assault Against a Child, with the sentences to run consecutive, for an aggregate sentence of 47 years to life. Additionally, a 100-year Order of Protection is to be issued in favor of the victim, and court-imposed fines and surcharges imposed.

“With the guilty plea of Craig N. Ross, Jr., the victim and their family were able to hear the defendant admit his guilt to these heinous and despicable acts. His admission of guilt ends the question of who was responsible for the kidnapping that rallied our entire community together to assist in locating her. He will serve decades in prison before any parole consideration is available to him. This result is due to the tremendous efforts of the New York State Police and their numerous law enforcement partners, along with the outpouring of support from the citizens of the community who turned out in so many ways in support of the child and their family,” Heggen said in a news release.