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Crime & Safety

West Orange Restaurant Owner gets Probation

Thomas Halligan pleaded guilty to juvenile related charges in January

The owner of Halligan's Public House in West Orange, Thomas Halligan, received a sentence of three years probation this week after pleading guilty to sexually touching a juvenile and giving the victim drugs, authorities said.

Halligan, who was sentenced by Judge Peter J. Vazquez, was also forced to relinquish the liquor license for his bar, according to Katherine Carter, spokeswoman for the Essex County Prosecutor's Office.

"Given the fragile state of the victim, we believe this is the best outcome," Carter wrote in an email message on Friday.

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Halligan, 50, had pleaded guilty to the charges in January before Judge Joseph Isabella, .

Sexual contact between Halligan and the 15-year-old boy occurred between April 2010 and April 2011, according to Carter.

Halligan was arrested with his wife, Lorraine Murphy, last May after a joint investigation by the West Orange Police Department and the prosecutor's office.

Murphy, who was charged with drug possession, would have had her charges dismissed as part of Halligan's plea deal, authorities have said.

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