The president of a Stamford pool company charged in the drowning death of a 6-year-old boy appeared in court Monday.

David Lionetti, president of Shoreline Pools, faces a manslaughter charge in the death of Zachary Cohn. Cohn drowned in his family?s pool in July 2007 when his arm got stuck in a suction drain. Police say Lionetti?s company failed to install mandated safety devices in the pool, therefore recklessly causing Cohn?s death.

Lionetti?s attorney, Richard Meehan, says his client did not purposely defy mandates and should not be facing the charges. ?The very difficult thing here is you?ve got a company of over 300 employees, you?ve taken the president of that company and [you?re] saying he should have personal, criminal responsibility for some unfortunate tragedy that occurred here,? Meehan says, adding that this case is the first of its kind.

Lionetti was only in Stamford Superior Court on Monday for a few minutes. He did not enter a plea, and the case was continued to August 12, when Lionetti plans to plead not guilty.

Since the accident, Shoreline has retrofitted many pools with the required safety devices to prevent further tragedies.

Pool company president charged in boy's drowning