OSAGE COUNTY — An Osage County judge has denied Sammy Fridenberg’s request to withdraw his guilty plea.
In March, a judge sentenced Fridenberg to 25 years on several child sexual abuse charges stemming from allegations from his adopted siblings.
WATCH: Judge denies convicted sexual abuser’s plea withdrawal
Two days later, he asked the court to withdraw his plea.
At his hearing on April 7, Fridenberg told the judge was never fully able to tell his side of the story, that attempts to reach his lawyer inside the jail were ignored and that he felt overwhelmed when he accepted the plea deal.
“It is just a tactic from him,” said Alexis Fridenberg, one of his victims. “He is playing the ‘oh, I didn’t know’ card. I am sure he will try and appeal and say I have health issues. I think it was his last, ‘let’s see what I can get away with.’”
In Oklahoma, Fridenberg had to prove that his original guilty plea was not voluntary.
The prosecutor presented the judge with multiple documents and transcripts where Fridenberg acknowledged that he comprehended the guilty plea. The prosecutor also detailed the number of hearings in a lengthy case where Fridenberg had opportunities to speak up.
2 News asked Sammy Fridenberg if he wished to say anything after the hearing. “If I thought you cared, I would, but I know what you are trying to do,” he said to 2 News reporter Erin Christy.
Fridenberg faces more, similar charges in Tulsa County. That case is still pending.
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