Schenectady man faces up to life in prison for forced oral sex with woman

A Schenectady man is facing 25 years to life in prison for forcibly performing oral sex on an 18-year-old woman.

A Schenectady County grand jury found Arthur Pryor, 48, guilty of predatory sexual assault, the Schenectady County District Attorney’s Office said.

Pryor faces a maximum sentence of 25 years to life in prison when sentenced on Jan. 12. He is eligible for a stronger penalty because he has a previous sexual assault conviction from November 2020. He received a sentence of 12 years in prison on that case. However, because he admitted it to the judge, the jury didn’t know about it.

At the time of this crime in 2021, he had been on parole, and out of prison for about a year.

The sex in this most recent case assault occurred inside of a home on Albany Street where they both lived. The residence had been used as a boarding house.

Pryor is accused of entering the victim’s room without her consent, forcibly removing her clothing and putting his mouth on her private parts. She immediately reported the incident to family members, who contacted police.

Pryor’s DNA was in the system from his prior conviction and matched physical evidence on the victim.

Pryor’s defense attorney had argued that the oral sex was consensual. The jury rejected those arguments after hearing testimony from family members of the victim and the physical evidence.