AK- Lawyer's surgery delays sentencing of sex offender

5-15-2008 Alaska:

A sex offender waiting for a prison sentence gained a few extra months of freedom after a judge delayed sentencing so his attorney could recover from spinal surgery.

Juneau Superior court Judge Philip Pallenberg last month granted a three-month continuation to allow attorney Thomas Nave to recover from major neck surgery.

Richard Bailey, 60, in March pleaded guilty to two counts of online enticement of a minor following a plea agreement to reduce the original seven counts.

Last August, an Arkansas sting operation caught Bailey while looking for online predators. Over a period of time, Bailey arranged a tryst with someone he presumed to be 13 years old.

Bailey's recent conviction was not his first. In 1984, he was convicted of sexually abusing an 8-year-old girl at a Ketchikan baseball diamond. He also has convictions for exposing himself going back to 1974.

Bailey does not appear on the sex offender registry for his past convictions and is not required to register until after his release following whatever sentence he receives.

Juneau District Attorney Doug Gardner wrote that Bailey admitted he has a victim list that "may exceed 75."

A pre-sentencing report written during Bailey's 1984 trial said he was "driven to molest children." Then, Bailey was sentenced to two years. Both were suspended, according to court documents.

"He could not control his impulse to fondle her," wrote the investigator.

A clerk who answered the phone at Juneau Superior Court said Pallenberg is forbidden to speak with anyone about the case without everyone involved present.

"No ex parte communication," she said.

Gardner did not oppose Bailey's sentencing delay. The case was a complicated one and Nave needed to be well to deal with the sentencing phase, he said.

"Things happen," Gardner said.

This spring, while released on bail, Bailey was charged with giving alcohol to a minor. Bailey, a former employee of several Juneau box stores, pleaded guilty quickly to avoid additional charges, according to court records.

In Nave's request for postponement, he apologized for the inconvenience to the court and participants. Nave told Pallenberg that he recommended at least one other client seek out an alternate counselor.

Pallenberg rescheduled sentencing for July 22 when Bailey faces between zero and two years in prison. Nevertheless, Gardner is pushing for Pallenberg to send Bailey to prison for five years to be followed by an extensive probation period enabling the slightest violation to return the pedophile to a cell.

"The reality is, that despite the danger that Bailey presents, he will one day return to live in the community," Gardner said. ..News Source.. by Greg Skinner | JUNEAU EMPIRE