New York man accused of soliciting Accomack teen granted bond under house arrest conditions

By Linda Cicoira

A 58-year-old New York resident being held in Accomack Jail on 35 counts of using a communications system to solicit sex from a 17-year-old Accomack boy in 2020 and 2021, was granted a $125,000 bond Thursday in the county’s circuit court on the condition that the defendant acquire a local place to live and be under house arrest there.

The bond for Eris Kalitara was based on his 90-year-old mother’s annual income and was suggested by defense lawyer Edward V. Sapone, of New York, known for his practice on federal criminal cases and white-collar litigation

Sapone explained that his client, who is also known as Robert Brett Gulledge and was identified as a male in court records, is “transitioning” to female. Sapone is a faculty member of the National Institute of Trial Advocacy and teaches trial techniques at Hofstra Law School in New York.

The out-of-state attorney is working through the office of attorney Brian M. Latuga, of Virginia Beach, during this case. Latuga is a former prosecutor, police officer, and medic specializing in criminal defense and civil litigation in state and federal courts.

Sapone asked the judge to decide that the state could not meet the burden of probable cause for the dozens of charges, although that issue went unresolved.

He argued for bond, saying Kalitara, who has been in jail for nearly a year, has no criminal history or previous arrest, does not have a passport, and has caused no trouble to guards or other inmates while being detained.

Kalitara’s mother wanted him to live in Ohio with her while he is on bond, Sapone said. “Mom is sharp as a whip” and is agreeable to home confinement or electronic monitoring, or whatever the court approves. “She would not want to lose the money. She would not allow any shenanigans.”

The lawyer further argued that Kalitara has asked for solitary confinement and has spent some time there. But the defendant has also been in the jail’s male general population at different times and has been beaten up and assaulted there due to the sexual transition.

Sapone said Kalitara has a wife and two grown children. His Mineola client does not eat meat but is served it at the jail “slopped” on top of vegetables, which then become inedible. He also claimed the defendant became in harm’s way when defending another inmate by breaking up a fight so that the victim could escape a bad situation.

He also claimed his client thought the alleged victim was 18 or older.

Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Michael Baker said, “Danger comes to the community at large,” if the bond were granted. Keeping the defendant from communicating online is “a logistical nightmare.”

Kalitara has transitioned chemically but not physically, Baker said later. Communication started with the minor in 2020, with the defendant referring to erotic role-playing, including bondage. The defendant also sent photos to the victim.

“I would love to come pick you up, but it would be an abduction,” Baker quoted from a message from Kalitara to the boy. “You’re only six hours away, I wish I could come” there. The boy turned 18 on March 1, 2021. It was also alleged that two of the boy’s younger siblings talked to Kalitara while playing online video games.

The indictments specifically state Kalitara “intentionally exposed himself to a person between 15 and 17 to whom he was not married and attempted to entice, allure, persuade, or invite the victim to enter a vehicle, room, house, or with another plan, for sex.”

Records showed Kalitara has a master’s degree in computer science and was a stay-at-home father supported by his wife.