Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 26, 1992 TAG: 9203260189
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: KERRI DeROCHI LANDMARK NEWS SERVICE
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium
The sentence, handed down by Judge Frederick B. Lowe at the close of a blistering speech, is the toughest penalty ever given in a sex-abuse case in Virginia Beach. It was double the sentence that prosecutors had sought.
"Your conduct represents the most vile, disgusting, criminal act imaginable," Lowe said. "You put your own daughter through years of what can truly be described as a living hell."
The assaults went on for five years and did not end until the girl stole the videotapes and about 60 Polaroid snapshots and gave them to police.
The man, whose name was withheld to protect the identity of his daughter, pleaded guilty on Nov. 19 to 14 felony counts of forcible sodomy, indecent liberties and child pornography.
He said nothing Wednesday after Lowe slowly announced the sentence to each of the charges. The man had earlier submitted a handwritten three-page letter, saying he had lost everything.
He will be eligible for parole consideration in 2012, when he is 59 years old.
His daughter, who is 17, did not appear in court. She now lives with a foster family and is undergoing therapy.
Her trauma started in 1987 when her father asked her perform oral sex on him. She was 12 years old.
Over the next few years, he asked her to strip for him and held her captive with handcuffs. He took snapshots of her with a Polaroid. He later used a video camera.
The defendant's attorney, Greg McCormack, acknowledged Wednesday that the crimes were tragic. But he asked Lowe to be merciful because his client had himself been the victim of sexual abuse as a child.
He argued that the defendant had already lost his family and his 19-year career in the Navy. He was given a dishonorable discharge last year and will not receive retirement benefits.
by CNB