Vernon Center, CT man sentenced to 2 decades in prison

Oral Haines was sentenced to 20 years in prison and 10 years of special parole in Vernon Superior Court Friday, July 25 for molesting a family member between ages 9 and 23. His conviction was after only 3 hours of jury deliberation. Because of the statute of limitations in effect when the abuse was finally reported back in 2003, Haines was only charged with the sexual abuse occuring after the victim was 21 and not the childhood and adolescent sexual abuse, but it was factored into Haines' sentence.

The abuse started as inappropriate touching, she said, before progressing to further sexual abuse, including intercourse. The woman also told jurors that she eventually began using birth control so that Haines would not impregnate her.

Haines, charged with 2 dozen counts of 3rd degree sexual assault and a count of 1st degree sexual assault, was found guilty on all counts. He denied the charges, then said that the sex was consensual between himself and the victim.

During his two-week trial, defense lawyers Jeff Kestenband and Moira Buckley questioned why the woman waited so long to report the lengthy childhood abuse; Haines was charged with only two years’ worth of assaults due in part to the state’s statute of limitations on sexual crimes.

However, expert testimony revealed to the court that victims of traumatic abuse often hide the details of their abuse from others due to a deep sense of shame or responsibility, even going so far as to protect their abusers. After just three hours of deliberation, the jury convicted Haines of one count of first-degree sexual assault and 24 counts of third-degree sexual assault, acquitting him of one count of first-degree kidnapping.

Assistant State’s Attorney Elizabeth Leaming, who prosecuted the trial, said that his actions were “one of the most heinous crimes one can commit. Never once, prior to the trial or since, has the defendant shown the slightest bit of remorse.”

The victim also spoke at the sentencing, and said “I’m sure you thought I wouldn’t show up for the trial; that I wouldn’t stay the course. That you still had control over me.”

The woman called herself the voice for those women who come forward to confront their abusers “even if their families or society ostracizes them.”

Kestenband, however, argued for less jail time for the man he said was a good person and a good father; one who suffered from a background of mental illness and parental abuse. According to Kestenband, Haines’s father was physically and emotionally abusive, and many of Haines’ behaviors mirror those that his father inflicted on him.

Another factor in sentencing, Kestenband said, should be Haines’ life expectancy. Haines, 52, is without work, on disability, and is plagued by physical ailments.“Eight years, for somebody in his position, is a significant period of incarceration,” Kestenband said, after proposing a maximum eight-year sentence for Haines.Many of Haines’ friends and family also spoke during the sentencing in support of their friend and father, supporting Kestenband’s comments.

Conditions of special parole include sex offender treatment and registration, no contact with the victim or pornography. Kestenband plans to appeal.