May 13, 2015 at 4:40 p.m.
Weston man handed prison sentence in 2013 child sexual assault case
Weston man handed prison sentence in 2013 child sexual assault case
Harry G. Turner, who will turn 73 on May 16, learned his fate Friday in Oneida County Circuit Court.
He entered no contest pleas to both charges on Jan. 13 as part of a plea agreement from Oneida County District Attorney Michael Schiek. Under the terms of the agreement, which Turner's lawyers Brian Bennett and Michael Brennan helped craft, the state would recommend Branch I Judge Patrick O'Melia sentence Turner to 20 years probation, house arrest for one year, and $10,000 in restitution to the victim for counseling expenses. He would also be required to write a letter of apology to the victim. He faced a maximum penalty of 60 and 40 years in prison, respectively, for the Class B and C felonies.
But instead of house arrest, Turner is headed to prison.
O'Melia rejected the plea agreement, as is his right, and sentenced the defendant to eight years in prison and eight years of extended supervision on the first count and five years prison and five years supervision on the second, to be served concurrently
Turner was accused of having repeated sexual contact with a boy who has a cognitive disability when the child was under the age of 13. The incidents occurred in the summer of 2008 when Turner lived in the town of Nokomis, according to the criminal complaint.
The more serious of the two charges was filed on Sept. 10, 2013, after an Oneida County Sheriff's Office investigation was conducted in June of that year. According to court testimony, the victim told a relative about the abuse and the relative contacted authorities. The victim told investigators that the sexual contact with Turner occurred often and in three different locations - including Nokomis - when the child was between the ages of 7 and 12. The victim also talked about other children with whom he believed Turner had sexual contact, according to the report attached to the complaint.
Oneida County Sheriff's Office Captain Terri Hook read victim impact statements into the record, ending with one from the now 19-year-old victim himself.
"You hurt me. You took what no one else has taken from me my whole entire life. You made me feel so bad about myself, you did such nasty things to me," Hook read.
According to the statement, Turner told the victim that if he didn't stay quiet about the assaults, he would tell the police that his mother was using drugs and have her arrested.
"You made me feel so awful. But you know what? I feel better that you are getting what you deserve," Hook continued. "Besides, no little kid should go through what I had to. I'm so glad that I spoke up because I'm sure I saved other kids from a nasty man. You need to know the things you did to me and the things you made me do to you are wrong. They weren't things like you called them. You need to go through what I went through because I know damn well you couldn't even last a day. Like I said, you're a nasty man who deserves everything that is coming to you. May I live long enough to see you rot."
Bennett and Brennan, called Turner's 30-year-old niece, who has lived with him her whole life, to the stand to make a statement. The woman told the court her life would have been very different if not for her uncle's help. She said he took her in and helped care for her daughter. He also made sure that the woman's mother, his sister, was taken care of when she became ill.
"I just want to tell the court how much I appreciate my uncle," she said.
Assistant District Attorney Steve Michlig, filling in for Schiek, then spoke about the difficulties the case presented.
"That recommendation was made in advance of the pre-sentence investigation, and it would be fair to say that the pre-sentence investigation is much more punitive then the recommendation made by the state," Michlig said. "I think that the two recommendations draw out the dynamic which is involved in the prosecution of cases of this nature. There are many different things that the prosecution must look at and must deal with when prosecuting sensitive crimes. If you look at the pre-sentence investigation, and you look at the facts it contains and the conclusions it contains therein, there are many aggravating factors. And I think there is very little dispute about the aggravating factors. And notice that they are truly aggravating."
Michlig said the relationship between Turner and the victim was like that of a father and son.
"The defendant took the victim under his wing. It's very difficult not to characterize the behavior as grooming behavior, the way the victim would be dependent on him," Michlig said. "Not only was the victim young, but he also had a cognitive disability. He was, undoubtedly, vulnerable."
Michlig also said that the assaults started when the victim was young and continued for a period of at least two years in Oneida County. That Turner threatened to have the victim's mother arrested for her drug abuse if he told anyone what was going on compounds the seriousness of the crime, he argued.
"I think it's fair to say it is difficult for any child to deal with that type of assaultive behavior that was experienced here. But in this case, we have a child with a cognitive disability, which I think magnifies the difficulty," Michlig said.
Michlig said he had to look at the case from Schiek's standpoint before the plea agreement was made.
"The difficult question prosecutors always have is do I make this child take the witness stand and testify? What impact will that have on the child? What's the cost/benefit analysis of that one? It was Mr. Schiek that did that analysis, and it's the recommendation that the state makes," Michlig said.
He said all the information presented indicates that, because of his age and health problems, it's unlikely Turner will reoffend. In resolving the case, Schiek sought to strike a balance between punitive and therapeutic components while protecting the victim from further victimization, Michlig said.
He also said the financial portion of the agreement would help the family pay for treatment for the young man, something that would otherwise be beyond their means.
"That will provide the psychological counseling that child needs," Michlig said. "Something (Turner) would not be able to pay if he was incarcerated, especially in the state prison system."
Michlig said while the pre-sentence investigation calls for a harsher punishment than what is laid out in the agreement, the state stands by it.
"These cases are difficult. It was a difficult decision that was made, but we believe it was the right decision to make in looking at the interests of the victim, which was the primary concern in resolving this case," Michlig said.
He then asked O'Melia to go along with the terms spelled out in the plea agreement.
Brennan agreed with Michlig's characterization of the case as "difficult." He also said that the pre-sentence investigation was more focused on the punitive aspect rather than treatment aspect of the case.
"Mr. Turner has accepted responsibility for this with his plea," Brennan said. "If you look at the sentence recommendation, it really is the right sentence given his age and his health."
Brennan noted that the victim wanted an apology from Turner and that was part of the plea agreement. He also said the victim had indicated the plea agreement was acceptable to him and he was "OK" with the defendant being placed on probation. Brennan also said that as a condition of probation, Turner would have to undergo sex offender treatment.
He added that he hoped that the judge would lean toward treatment rather than punishment.
Bennett agreed with his co-counsel's recommendations, citing Turner's 40-year work history, and relative success despite some cognitive disabilities of his own. He also noted Turner has had just one brush with the criminal justice system, a 1980 conviction in Illinois.
"He's made some bad choices, sure, but he is sufficiently ashamed of what he's done and I'd like the court to consider that when crafting a sentence," Bennett said.
Turner declined to say anything on his own behalf.
As a former prosecutor, O'Melia said he understood Schiek's position when weighing the options on a sensitive case such as this one.
"I'm sure that the victim did not want to testify for the reasons stated in the letters from family members and from him," O'Melia said. "He's confused and angry, and I'm sure a trial wouldn't have assisted that."
The judge said he ordered the pre-sentence investigation at the plea hearing because he didn't know enough about Turner and his family, and while that information could have been presented at that time, he wanted an independent person to examine him and make a recommendation.
O'Melia also listed the various factors a judge must weigh in deciding on a sentence for an individual defendant.
"Like most defendants at sentencing, except for a very few, they all have good qualities and bad qualities," O'Melia said. "Some are treatable and some are not treatable. And it is no different here today for Mr. Turner."
He called Turner's 40-year work history "remarkable," especially given his eighth-grade education and cognitive disabilities. Not only was he able to work, he saved money and bought homes, the judge said.
"He had trouble reading, but he got by. He was able to fake it, as many people with such limitations do," O'Melia said.
O'Melia cited the 1980 conviction Turner had in Illinois in 1980 as a concern. The judge said the charge was listed as taking indecent liberties with a child, and while records were not as extensive as they are now, some details were provided by Illinois.
"In that case, the victims were nine and 10 and it has been described as simple exposure," O'Melia said. "But it was more than that. He offended two little boys while he was coaching their mother's softball team. He said the relationship went too far and he exposed himself. He said he touched the boys' (inappropriately) and made them touch him."
The judge said that while Turner is 72 and has health problems, that doesn't mean he is not a potential danger to young people.
"It was just six years ago that these offenses occurred. You were 66, 67 when this occurred, so it wasn't that long ago," O'Melia said. "At a tad younger age, he was able to commit these offenses."
While Turner's support of his niece and her child are mitigating factors, O'Melia said he could not help but look at the aggravating factors. He said while Turner showed remorse to the author of the pre-sentence investigation, those statements were preceded by denial that anything improper had occurred.
"There was blame placed on the victim and denial even in the recorded interview of the defendant that I had the opportunity to listen to for the purposes of previous motion hearings," O'Melia said. "And there is continued denial as some family members are still behind him, blind to the fact that he's been convicted."
O'Melia said it was regrettable that the victim was not in coourt because he was concerned about some of the statements the young man made in the pre-sentence report about how he was blaming himself and was confused, wondering if he even should have reported what happened.
"Had the victim had been here, I would tell him, as I would tell any other young victim, that it had nothing to do with them. They were in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong person and they didn't know any better. They couldn't have known any better, and they couldn't have stopped it at that time," O'Melia said. "I'm hopeful that with treatment, the victim can go on with his life."
O'Melia said there were many victims in this case besides the young man Turner assaulted, even those people who are still supporting him.
The judge then discussed the gravity of the offense, calling what Turner did "textbook grooming" of the victim. He said that the victim was completely dependent on Turner, which further aggravated the behavior.
"This victim really was easy pickings to a man who wanted to victimize," O'Melia noted.
The judge also disputed the notion that Turner is now in some sort of "remission" from sex offenses.
"There's an equally compelling assumption, and that is he was never caught again until this victim spoke up," O'Melia said. "He (Turner) talks about a remission, like it was some sort of cancer that had been diagnosed and he is in remission. Unlike that example, he had diagnostic tests to show that the cancer was there. Here, it is not tested. It involved reported history by the defendant, and any other arrests. People don't just step forward and confess a history, it would be the antithesis of their objective."
O'Melia said crimes such as Turner's often only come to light when the victim grows up and has the courage to report what happened to them.
While crimes have been reported since 1980, O'Melia said he can't assume there were none, just as there was no evidence to support claims in the pre-sentence report that Turner may have bought off other victims.
O'Melia also said he has to consider the protection of the public as part of the sentencing considerations.
"Everyone says he's too old to do this again. He's not too old to do this again," he said. "This is not the type of offense that requires any sort of physical prowess or speed. This isn't the case where he is snatching kids off the street, that isn't his type. His type is to befriend them and form that relationship and do what he wants to do."
O'Melia said he had to look at "the big picture," and that protecting the public sometimes outweighs a plea agreement.
"What would 12 people think if I put them up here on a jury, do all these facts add up and what would they think? Now we don't do that because there would be a lynch mob with these types of offenses," O'Melia said. "But this is our community and we have to be able to protect our children from people like Mr. Turner. That's what this comes down to, protection, and yes, it's punishment."
O'Melia said the pre-sentence report's suggested sentence of 18 years in prison was harsh, and amounted to a life sentence.
"But to not put him in custody would totally depreciate the seriousness of this case," the judge added before handing down his sentence.
As part of the sentence, O'Melia ordered that if Turner has the $10,000 that it be placed in a trust to pay for the victim's counseling.
"For that purpose and that purpose only, not to buy a car," he said.
Jamie Taylor may be reached at [email protected].
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