THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, March 7, 1995 TAG: 9503070277
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B7 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LYNN WALTZ, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 68 lines
Serial rapist Kerri Charity remained defiant in the face of seven life sentences Monday, proclaiming his innocence in court.
``Against insurmountable odds, we will prevail in the end,'' Charity said in his first public statement since he was arrested in December 1993. ``We are on solid ground. I stand unbowed in triumph because we stand for what's right.''
Charity then completed his statement - just before formal sentencing - by saying, ``I'm done.''
Moments later, Judge Frederick B. Lowe sentenced Charity, the ``North End Rapist,'' to seven life sentences plus 80 years, calling the trial and sentencing ``an absolutely awful situation for everyone involved.''
Charity was convicted in February of 11 felonies in four sexual assaults at or near the Oceanfront. Each time, he attacked a woman alone in her home, threatening her with a knife, often using demeaning and dehumanizing language.
The jury recommended the maximum for each conviction: a life sentence each for three rapes, two sodomies and two abductions; and four 20-year sentences - one each for four burglaries with intent to rape or sodomize.
``This is not a happy day for anyone,'' Lowe told the defendant Monday as he imposed the jury's recommended sentence. ``This is a sad day for the victims, a sad day for the court, a sad day for your family and a sad day for you. It's sad that a person of your ability now stands before this court.''
The sentencing comes three weeks before the scheduled start of a trial on a fifth case against Charity. The victim, a 48-year-old woman, was jogging on a wooded trail in Seashore State Park on Oct. 11, 1993.
During arguments Monday, prosecutor Pamela Albert described the lasting trauma for the victims: One believes every sound in the house is an intruder. Another can't enjoy solitude or sleep alone. Another can't drive at night. Another arms herself at home.
``These are insights into those human beings who suffered at his hand,'' Albert told the judge. ``This defendant has committed heinous, cruel, dehumanizing acts on four women in the privacy of their homes. Horrible crimes, cruel acts of violence, penetrating them emotionally and physically in ways no human beings should have to go through.''
Charity, 24, showed little emotion during the two-week trial, turning from time to time to make encouraging gestures to his parents, his brother and the mother of his young daughter who came to court every day.
The family believes that Charity is not guilty and that he was railroaded by the system. ``My brother's innocence is profound,'' Charity's older brother, Kenneth, said after the conviction.
While the victims declined comment Monday, the head of the city's victim witness program, Lee-Hope Thrasher, said they were relieved and ready to start the final process of healing that begins with the formal end of the trial.
Thrasher said the women plan to get together now that sentencing is complete. ``They have wanted to get together, but we couldn't allow it because it would have tainted the testimony,'' Thrasher said.
``I think they'll stay close to each other,'' Thrasher said. ``One good thing about the four cases being tried at once is it kept the trials from being drawn out, and they were able to be supportive of each other.''
Severe nightmares, flashbacks and depression are common symptoms of rape trauma syndrome, Thrasher said. Eighty percent of married rape victims end up getting divorced because of the ``drastic effect'' rape has on marital relations, she said.
KEYWORDS: RAPE TRIAL SENTENCE by CNB