Judge Extends Sex Offender’s Sentence After Being Criticized

By Linda Orlando

Judge Edward Cashman of Vermont has been called "the worst judge in the USA" by Bill O’Reilly of FOX News. And most Americans—including the governor of Vermont—would agree with that assessment. When Mark Hulett, 34, plead guilty to sexual abuse of a child, Cashman sentenced him to only 60 days in prison. The crime Hulett admitted to committing was having sexual contact with a young girl over the course of a four-year period that began when she was only 6 years old.

Cashman’s explanation for the unbelievably light sentence was that he wanted to make sure Hulett would be able to get treatment. Because the Corrections Department in Vermont had concluded that Hulett wasn’t likely to become a reoffender, he would not be eligible to receive sex-offender treatment until after serving his sentence in prison. So Cashman, using some sort of warped rationalization for an inept sentence, has said that he felt that the best way to ensure public safety was to get Hulett out of prison as soon as possible so he could receive treatment.

As soon as the sentence was announced, Vermont Gov. James Douglas called for the judge to resign, and several lawmakers suggested that Cashman should be impeached. The judge was harshly criticized by television commentators, newspaper columnists, online bloggers, and numerous government officials who all said his sentence was extremely too light. Prosecutor Robert Simpson spoke for scores of people who had been shocked speechless by the unthinkable sentence. "This court’s sentence must consider and include punishment for the defendant’s action in repeatedly sexually assaulting this child," Simpson argued in court papers.

Hulett’s case was back in court Thursday, with Simpson and other state prosecutors persuading Cashman to reconsider the sentence. Hulett’s lawyer, Mark Kaplan, argued that the sentence is in line with other sentences handed down by other Vermont courts, and it would include a long period of probation and parole. He contended that the judge’s ruling should not be affected by the intense public outcry. "The sentence in this case may not be popular, but the court cannot be swayed by the media or the mob," he wrote in court papers.

In a memorandum two weeks ago, Cashman appeared to have rejected calls to change the sentence, saying, "To change my decision now…simply because of some negative sentiment, would be wrong." But last week, he seemed to indicate that the harsh backlash leveled at him has been difficult to handle. "It is difficult to endure, in silence, the type of criticism leveled to date," he wrote in another memo. In court Thursday the sentence was changed from 60 days to 3 to 10 years. Simpson said that he doesn’t know whether Cashman plans to rule from the bench or wait and file a written decision at a later date. But at least the judge appears to have regained some momentary sense of justice, even if it had to be thrust upon him by the people who elected him. He would do well to start scouring the classifieds now, because his days on the bench are certainly numbered.