Your Think OUR Judge Is Bad? -- Union County Editorials

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Date Posted: Wednesday, March 15
Author: Matt
Subject:

Your Think OUR Judge Is Bad?

Sentence in sex-abuse case angers neighbors
Judge defends putting man on probation

Friday, March 03, 2006

John Futty
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

A Franklin County Common Pleas judge says he relied on testimony from two psychologists when he decided not to imprison a man who admitted sexually abusing two boys for more than three years.

Judge John A. Connor came under fire this week from the man�s neighbors and victimrights advocates.

In December, Connor sentenced Andrew S. Selva, 46, to five years of probation under intensive sexual-offender supervision, including one year of home confinement with electronic monitoring. Violating probation would mean eight years in prison.

Selva pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual battery, a thirddegree felony that does not require prison time but can carry a sentence of up to five years.

"By sending him to prison, he gets no treatment and he gets out and does whatever he wants," said Connor, who ordered treatment as a condition of the probation.

But Catherine Harper Lee, executive director of the Justice League of Ohio, said probation is too lenient.

"In our society, we expect these offenders to be sent to prison," she said. "What message does it send to these two children, who had the courage to step forward and who endured years of trauma?"

Harper Lee attended a Tuesday meeting organized by residents of Selva�s Hilliard neighborhood, many of whom learned about the case last month when they got notices in the mail that a sexual predator was living nearby.

"It�s too bad these offenders can�t be moved next door to the judges," said Susan White, secretary of the Britton Farms Homeowners Association.

Selva, of 4669 Carrington Way, could not be reached for comment yesterday.

In January 2004, he was indicted on 20 counts of rape and two counts of gross sexual imposition. One of the boys was 5 years old when the assaults began in 1999, according to the indictment, which lists a series of rapes involving oral and anal sex.

The boys knew Selva because he helped their families come to America from Asia said detective Melinda Hunt, of the Columbus police child sexualassault squad. "He violated their trust. He was in a position to help these people. Instead, he raped their children."

Hunt was angered and saddened when she heard Selva�s sentence.

"I thought he deserved prison time. I still do," she said.

The indictment was dismissed in 2004 because the prosecutor discovered minor inaccuracies in some of the dates and accusations. The prosecutor could have returned to a grand jury, but Selva�s attorneys asked him to consider a plea.

Ronald Welch, who was the assistant prosecutor in the case, said the older victim, by then a high-school athlete, worried that members of the community might learn what happened to him. Protecting his identify was one of the factors in allowing Selva to plead guilty to the lesser charges, Welch said.

Prosecutors did not recommend a sentence, agreeing with defense attorneys to leave it up to the judge. Pushing for a prison term could have derailed plea negotiations, Welch said. "I felt confident that the acts themselves would result in prison."

Welch has since become an assistant prosecutor in Muskingum County, and another Franklin County assistant handled Selva�s sentencing hearing.

Connor said psychologists for the prosecution and defense both testified at the hearing that, if Selva received treatment, his chances of re-offending were not high.

"I can only consider what he pleaded to," Connor said. "If he had pled to two counts of rape, he would be in prison. I had two psychologists who said he�s treatable. He admitted he had a problem and said he wanted help. I made the best call on what I had in front of me."

Side note from Matt:
This judge has been convicted of DUI multiple times himself! He stated in an interview that "Selva has a disease much like mine!"

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Replies:

Re: Your Think OUR Judge Is Bad? -- Just Wondering, Wednesday, March 15
Re: Your Think OUR Judge Is Bad? -- guess, Thursday, March 16
- Re: Your Think OUR Judge Is Bad? -- Are you kidding?, Saturday, March 18