A Vermont child molester, whose case triggered national media attention, is still behind bars ten months after he was scheduled to be released from prison.
The case of child molester Mark Hulett made headlines three years ago when Judge Edward Cashman sentenced Hulett to only 60 days behind bars for repeated sexual abuse of a girl under ten.After a storm of complaints, Cashman re-sentenced Hulett to serve a minimum of three years in prison. Those three years were up in January.
But corrections officials say Hulett has refused to co-operate with release planning and he will not get out of jail until he does.
"If he chooses to take a maximum sentence imposed, then that's his choice. If you don't abide by the conditions that the Department of Corrections sets you'll serve your maximum sentence. If he does not give us a residence that we feel comfortable with, then he'll likely do the full maximum term of his sentence," said Vermont Corrections Commissioner Andy Pallito.
The Commissioner says Hulett has been transferred to a prison in Kentucky for now. If Hulett does not cooperate, he could be held for his maximum sentence of ten years.
When Judge Edward Cashman sentenced Mark Hulett, 34, to 60 days in prison for sexually abusing a child, he said he wanted to make sure the man got treatment that would be available while he was behind bars.
Ever since, he's been vilified by television commentators, bloggers and even the governor who say he was too light on the crime.
On Thursday, the case was back in court, and state prosecutors persuaded Cashman to reconsider the sentence. Prosecutor Robert Simpson argued in court papers that a 60-day jail term wasn't nearly enough.
"This court's sentence must consider and include punishment for the defendant's action in repeatedly sexually assaulting this child," Simpson said.
Hulett had pleaded guilty to charges that he had sexual contact with a girl during a four-year period beginning when she was 6.
After Cashman announced the sentence, Gov. James Douglas called for the judge to resign and several lawmakers suggested he be impeached.
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A Williston woman who allegedly admitted to knowing that Mark Hulett molested her daughter several years ago is looking to have her confession thrown out and one of the charges against her dismissed.William Norful, the woman’s lawyer, filed the requests last month as part of the ongoing case.
In December 2008, prosecutors charged the woman with felony aggravated sexual assault on a child younger than 10 and aiding in the commission of a felony. If convicted, the mother faces a minimum sentence of 10 years in prison, far more than Hulett’s sentence.
Hulett was sentenced in January 2006 to three years in prison for sexual assault.
Vermont law has changed since the conviction, and now states that accomplices in sexual assault crimes are to be held as accountable as perpetrators.
Prosecutors say the woman knew about and did not try to stop Hulett from sexually abusing her daughter. The abuse occurred repeatedly at the girl’s home when she was between the ages of 6 and 10.
In an interview with a therapist last summer, the daughter said her mother was aware of what was happening in the home, according to a police affidavit.
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