Tebano was fingerprinted and photographed by city police during a booking this morning when he was charged with third-degree sexual abuse, forcible touching and child endangerment. Tebano, 36, faces up to a year in prison if convicted. He was given tickets to appear in City Court Monday morning and released from custody.

Shortly after Tebano left the police station this morning, his attorney Peter Lynch said, ``It's unfortunate these types of allegations have been made by a young person. We're not going to cast any aspersions on her.'' But, Lynch said, ``the evidence in the case is going to show plainly and simply that these allegations are false. Armando is an innocent guy.''

Lynch, who expects a trial in the case, said Tebano would be cleared by a jury.

Republicans have already called on Tebano to resign his $75,000-a-year position as the county's Republican elections commissioner and his unpaid duty as city GOP chairman. Tebano announced June 1 that he was stepping down as county chairman and was formally replaced Wednesday when the GOP committee chose Rotterdam Town Chairman Thomas Buchanan as his successor.

Lynch did not specifically address whether Tebano would remain as city party chairman but he said that, as far as giving up his paid job, he believed Tebano is presumed innocent and shouldn't have to lose his job over an allegation they eventually hope to show is false.

The charges stemmed from the girl's accusation that he grabbed her last August while they watched a ``Star Wars'' movie at Tebano's house, police said.

The investigation began when the victim and her family went to Sheriff Harry Buffardi in early September, officials said. The girl allegedly said she pulled away from Tebano and left the house, and her family initially did not press charges but had a change of heart.

Buffardi handed the case over to the Schenectady Police Department's Youth Aid Bureau, authorities said. Montgomery County District Attorney James E. Conboy, a Republican, was assigned to the case earlier this year by Chief Administrative Judge Vito Caruso when Schenectady County District Attorney Robert M. Carney, a longtime friend of Tebano's wife, County Judge Karen Drago, asked to be recused.

Mike Goodwin can be reached at 454-5465 or by e-mail at mgoodwin@timesunion.com.