VT- Officials against longer sentences

9-17-2008 Vermont:

BENNINGTON — Testimony given at a public hearing regarding Vermont's sex offender laws, hosted by the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, was decidedly against longer mandatory minimum sentences.
The hearing at the Vermont Veterans Home was the second of three held on Tuesday. The committee was tasked with holding meetings and public hearings following the death of Brooke Bennett in July, which sparked an intense, statewide debate over the state's sex offender laws.

Sen. Dick Sears, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said last week the committee is likely to pass legislation that gives prosecutors the option of seeking a longer sentence for certain "egregious" acts.

But witnesses offering testimony Tuesday were largely opposed to longer mandatory sentences.

Bennington Police Detective Lawrence Cole, who investigates sex crimes for the Bennington County Special Victims Unit, said lengthening sentences would negate much of the investigative work he does.

"No one more than me would like to see someone spend 25 years in prison for the things I investigate, but they've got to be convicted first," Cole said. "Mandatory minimums sounds great, but I'm afraid it's something that's going to leave a lot of guilty people walking the streets."

Cole said many young children victims are unable to make it through the deposition process, when they face questioning from defense lawyers.

Davia Plusch, a case manager with the Bennington County SVU, largely agreed, saying the state should be focusing more on preventative measures. She said the group is working with area daycare sites and pre-schools to teach the "Three R's" — resist, recognize and report.
However, the group, which all counties must have by next year according to state law, lacks the necessary funding to do the job.

"We need funding for prevention. We need funding for materials. We need funding for staff," Plusch said.

Funding for special victims units has been a heated political topic. The Democratic-led Legislature has accused the Douglas administration of dragging its feet on funding the units. Many of the county units have not yet been formed, Sears said.

"We really need to be building them, yesterday, actually, everywhere in the state," he said.

Bennington County Deputy State's Attorney Christina Rainville also pleaded with the committee to abandon the idea of 25-year minimum sentences.

"Mandatory minimums would take away the biggest tool I have, which is the plea bargain," she said. "I'm strongly opposed to mandatory minimums because that means we'll have to take these cases to trial. The end result is not going to make our community safer, but let more defendants go free."

Lester Goodermote, a county-level legislator in Rensselaer County, New York, was the only witness to ask the committee to seek longer sentences. He said New York residents living close to the state line were "very concerned" about Vermont's laws.

He touted New York's sentences for sex offenders and its civil confinement law, which allows the state to detain sex offenders even after completing prison sentences.

"The children of New York state and Vermont will be better off if ... these two states have comparable laws," Goodermote told the committee.

But Lori Vadikan, director of the Bennington County Child Advocacy Center, said New York has its own problems. She said the center has reported cases to New York authorities that never end up being investigated, whereas cases reported in Vermont almost always result in an arrest.

The committee will review the testimony heard at the public meetings held around the state and craft legislation next month that could go before the Legislature in a special session or when it reconvenes in January.

The 12-year-old Bennett, of Braintree, was reported missing on June 25. Her body was found on July 2, one week after she disappeared in Randolph. Bennett's uncle, Michael Jacques, 42, a convicted sex offender, has been charged with kidnapping Bennett, but so far has not been charged with sexually assaulting or killing her.

Many Vermonters, including Gov. James Douglas and Lt. Gov. Brian Dubie, have called for a Jessica's Law, which has as its centerpiece a 25-year-to-life mandatory minimum sentence. ..News Source.. by NEAL P. GOSWAMI, Staff Writer