[gonzo]

A convicted sex offender who violated the terms of a probationary sentence less than an hour after he left the courtroom in July was sent to state prison today.

Walter Freeman, 72, of Lent Street, City of Poughkeepsie, had been placed on probation July 15 after he admitted he had failed to notify police he had changed his address, as required by state law for most sex offenders.

Freeman acknowledged last month he had violated the terms of his probation by approaching two children in a bank in Poughkeepsie and offering to buy them ice cream.

The incident occurred about 40 minutes after Freeman had been placed on probation. Under the terms of his probation, Freeman was prohibited from having any contact with children.

Freeman was previously convicted of molesting an 11-year-old girl he didn't know in 2006.

“You may have set the record for how quickly you violated probation,” Dutchess County Court Judge Gerald V. Hayes told Freeman during today’s court proceeding.

Hayes then sentenced Freeman to 1 1/2 to five years in state prison.