MedicCook
04-12-2007, 07:11 PM
Child porn case sets new sentencing standard statewide
The state's highest court has reduced the prison sentence of a Cambridge man who pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography, but Washington County District Attorney Kevin Kortright said the ruling was also a big victory for prosecutors statewide.
The 3- to 9-year prison sentence Jonathan W. Dean received in 2004 was reduced to 1 to 3 years last week by the state Court of Appeals after Dean's lawyer argued that he was improperly sentenced to consecutive sentences for possessing videos depicting child pornography. He was sentenced in November 2004, so in light of the ruling, he will be eligible for parole in the coming weeks.
But while the high court found Dean was improperly sentenced, it settled an issue that had seen conflicting rulings in mid-level appeals courts around the state -- whether those who possess child pornography can receive consecutive sentences for individual images or videos, Kortright said.
The Court of Appeals ruled consecutive terms can be imposed, provided authorities show that the offensive images or videos were downloaded at separate times. If that can't be proven, any sentences would have to be served concurrently, or at the same time, for each charge.
"We lost the battle, but we won the war," Kortright said. "This was a big case across the state."
Given standards the Court of Appeals set, Dean could have faced consecutive sentences had prosecutors known the standard for consecutive sentences at the time, Kortright said.
He pleaded guilty to three felony child pornography charges, but when he acquired the videos was not specified during his guilty plea, Kortright said.
His lawyer, Jaime Louridas of Schenectady, appealed the sentences to the Appellate Division of state Supreme Court, which upheld the sentence imposed by acting Washington County Judge John Hall. Louridas then asked the state's highest court to hear the case.
Louridas said it was clear that prosecutors did not meet the threshold for consecutive sentences in Dean's case.
"They failed to meet their burden of showing the images were obtained at separate and distinct times," Louridas said.
Dean, 32, was being held in Washington Correctional Facility as of Thursday and has served two years and nine months in custody since his arrest in July 2004.
He was initially arrested on a felony charge of unlawful surveillance after he was accused of illicitly videotaping girls -- with whom he was acquainted -- while they changed their clothes.
That arrest prompted police to search a computer he owned, which led to the seizure of additional videos that showed children involved in sexual activity. Police said there were no local children depicted in those videos.
The appeal was argued by Washington County First Assistant District Attorney Katherine Henley.
Louridas said Dean will be returned to Washington County Court for re-sentencing in the coming weeks, and he will then be eligible for parole. His sentence will be fully served as of July, whether he's paroled or not, she said.
"Either way, he's getting out by July," she said.
http://www.poststar.com/articles/2007/04/12/news/latest/doc461eadcd5b0b6604139584.txt
The state's highest court has reduced the prison sentence of a Cambridge man who pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography, but Washington County District Attorney Kevin Kortright said the ruling was also a big victory for prosecutors statewide.
The 3- to 9-year prison sentence Jonathan W. Dean received in 2004 was reduced to 1 to 3 years last week by the state Court of Appeals after Dean's lawyer argued that he was improperly sentenced to consecutive sentences for possessing videos depicting child pornography. He was sentenced in November 2004, so in light of the ruling, he will be eligible for parole in the coming weeks.
But while the high court found Dean was improperly sentenced, it settled an issue that had seen conflicting rulings in mid-level appeals courts around the state -- whether those who possess child pornography can receive consecutive sentences for individual images or videos, Kortright said.
The Court of Appeals ruled consecutive terms can be imposed, provided authorities show that the offensive images or videos were downloaded at separate times. If that can't be proven, any sentences would have to be served concurrently, or at the same time, for each charge.
"We lost the battle, but we won the war," Kortright said. "This was a big case across the state."
Given standards the Court of Appeals set, Dean could have faced consecutive sentences had prosecutors known the standard for consecutive sentences at the time, Kortright said.
He pleaded guilty to three felony child pornography charges, but when he acquired the videos was not specified during his guilty plea, Kortright said.
His lawyer, Jaime Louridas of Schenectady, appealed the sentences to the Appellate Division of state Supreme Court, which upheld the sentence imposed by acting Washington County Judge John Hall. Louridas then asked the state's highest court to hear the case.
Louridas said it was clear that prosecutors did not meet the threshold for consecutive sentences in Dean's case.
"They failed to meet their burden of showing the images were obtained at separate and distinct times," Louridas said.
Dean, 32, was being held in Washington Correctional Facility as of Thursday and has served two years and nine months in custody since his arrest in July 2004.
He was initially arrested on a felony charge of unlawful surveillance after he was accused of illicitly videotaping girls -- with whom he was acquainted -- while they changed their clothes.
That arrest prompted police to search a computer he owned, which led to the seizure of additional videos that showed children involved in sexual activity. Police said there were no local children depicted in those videos.
The appeal was argued by Washington County First Assistant District Attorney Katherine Henley.
Louridas said Dean will be returned to Washington County Court for re-sentencing in the coming weeks, and he will then be eligible for parole. His sentence will be fully served as of July, whether he's paroled or not, she said.
"Either way, he's getting out by July," she said.
http://www.poststar.com/articles/2007/04/12/news/latest/doc461eadcd5b0b6604139584.txt