RSS Feed
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Ex-teacher gets 3 years in sex case Former teacher Sharon Rutherford, found guilty of child molestation by a Clarke County Circuit Court jury in October was sentenced Monday to three years in the state penitentiary and given five years probation in a split sentence. Rutherford was handcuffed and led away by Sheriff Bobby Moore pending making an appeals bond of $20,000 imposed by Judge Thomas Baxter. District Attorney Spence Walker had asked that bail be denied completely. Rutherford, of Thomasville, was convicted of two counts of child molestation in her sexual liaisons with two juvenile students while a teacher at Coffeeville High School. In addition, Judge Baxter ordered her to pay a $2,500 fine, crime victims compensation fines and court costs. She is to not enter Coffeeville High School or to have any contact with the victims in the case. She is also to perform 100 hours of community service. All parties are still under a gag order by Judge Baxter and could not comment on the sentencing. DA Walker had asked Judge Baxter for the maximum 10- year sentence while defense attorney Richard Jensen and two character witnesses pleaded for mercy. Rutherford did not make statement prior to her sentencing and Judge Baxter did not elaborate on his decision. Dr. James Best of Thomasville, associate pastor of the Thomasville Baptist Church, and Gay Hare of the Chilton community testified on Rutherford's behalf. Both answered Jensen that they believed her to be a good candidate for probation. However, they also agreed when Walker questioned them that they thought child molestation is a crime that deserves punishment. Hare spoke of Rutherford's two young children and said the loss of their mother due to prison time would be "devastating," adding, "They are truly the only innocent victims" in the matter. The mother of one of the victims testified for the state that she believed Rutherford should be punished for what she did and get a substantial amount of time. Rutherford is divorced from her husband, James, but they have joint custody of the two young children. Sharon Rutherford is also charged with solicitation of murder for allegedly trying to convince one of her students with whom she had a sexual relationship to kill her husband. DA Walker said that Rutherford was not only guilty of child molestation but of molesting the trust of her students' parents, of her teaching profession, her family, her church family and the community. If a male teacher had been similarly charged, there would be no question of guilt or the proper sentence, he said. He said Lady Justice is portrayed as being blind and that Rutherford should be treated no differently in being sentenced accordingly. Defense attorney Jensen countered that Lady Justice also holds scales to symbolize fairness, saying what Rutherford had done was hennas but she had never been charged or convicted of a criminal offense. He described what he said was a "plea deal" by the DA's office to let a convicted murderer have probation. Walker said that was not so; that there was a criminal negligent homicide case involving an auto accident that resulted in a death involving family members that was settled through probation and that Jensen's comments were like comparing "apples and oranges." Jensen countered that he didn't know the value of a human life could be determined by apples and oranges.
Judge Baxter took about a 30- minute break after hearing testimony before imposing the sentence.
|
for larger version       Ads have a Patent Pending. Click Here for More Information |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
