Jan. 25, 2007 — V.I. Superior Court Judge Leon Kendall said Thursday he thought the minimum sentence he was forced to impose on convicted rapist Ashley Williams was too long and that members of the media and victims' rights advocates were more dangerous than the man who forcibly sodomized a homeless man with a wooden chair leg.
Kendall also said he thought the victim — a homeless man lured to Williams' home with crack cocaine on Nov. 17, 2005 — was lying about the severity of the attack.
"The court simply disagrees [that the victim] did not consent to engage in sexual relations with the defendant," Kendall said. "There's no way in the world you are going to go up to a complete stranger … and you are going to get crack for free. He knew what he was doing when he got in Mr. Williams' car and went to his home." Kendall called the victim an alcoholic and a petty criminal.
"These acts were consensual. It might have gotten a little rough and kinky, but these acts were consensual," Kendall said.
Kendall said Williams didn't deserve the minimum 10 years in jail for first-degree rape.
"My hands are tied," Kendall said, lamenting the minimum sentence. "The court has no choice."
Initial police reports said Williams forcibly sodomized the victim with a baseball bat, but during the trial the weapon was said to be a wooden chair leg.
Kendall said the crime had been sensationalized in the public eye and that criticism of his orders — one that allowed Williams to go free on an unsecured bond before the trial and another that allowed him to go free for 48 hours after his conviction — were dangerous.
"The court does not consider Mr. Williams a danger to this community," Kendall said. "The real danger to the community are those who attempt to intimidate judges into doing what is popular."
Victims' rights groups and media outlets, including The Source, criticized Kendall's decision to let Williams out to "get his affairs in order" after the conviction.
Kendall said celebrity white-collar criminals, such as Martha Stewart and Enron executives, were given time to prepare for jail after their convictions and that Williams, who is unemployed, should have the same right.
But Williams did not turn himself over to authorities as he was ordered to do. Instead, he barricaded himself in his Contant home and threatened to blow up a large propane tank if police entered.
Kendall tried to talk Williams into surrendering, but after nearly four hours, police were forced to storm the home and subdue Williams with a stun gun.
Williams, at times shivering during the hearing Thursday, told Kendall he was injured during the raid, lifting his white T-shirt to show Kendall scars.
Williams' attorney, Joseph Mingolla, said Williams was a longtime cocaine abuser and was not aware of his actions "in general" because he is "so damaged by his drug abuse."
Williams disagreed: "I don't have no drug habit," he said.
"I would like to apologize to you for not coming," Williams said. "I just want to tell you I am sorry I didn't turn over myself, because I was coming. But I collapse. Because I never violate no court order."
Prosecutors did not agree with Kendall's assertion that Williams was not a public threat.
"Mr. Williams cannot be rehabilitated," said Renee Gumbs-Carty, an assistant attorney general. "There's a hole where there should be a heart in his body."
Kendall interrupted Gumbs-Carty, saying, "Just stick to the facts in the case. Don't wax emotional."
After the courtroom cleared, Kendall called Mingolla back into the well, telling Mingolla he was appointing Stephen Brusch instead.
Outside the courtroom, victims' rights advocates were livid.
"The judge just doesn't take sexual assault seriously," said Lynn Spencer, executive director of the V.I. Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Council.
"I'm willing to accept the judgment of the jury. I don't understand why the judge did not," Spencer said. "I think he sets a good example of why we need to have mandatory minimum sentencing."
Hadiya Silcott, a victims' advocate with the Family Resource Center, said demonizing the victim during sentencing was inappropriate.
"The judge implying it was consensual, even though the victim said it was not consensual, that implies people can consent without consenting," Silcott said. "I think it's absolutely devastating that he revictimized the victim."
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