A man with a girlfriend and a wife living with him was sentenced to 15 to 30 years in a Vermont prison Wednesday, December 9 for physically, emotionally, and sexually abusing them at their Williston, VT home. Judge Michael Kupersmith sentenced Kaseem Smith in Vermont District Court in Burlington after a plea aggreement in which sex assault charges were dropped in exchange for guilty pleas to two aggravated domestic assault charges.
The charges which lead to the assault charges were two instances in 2007 where Smith hit his "girlfriend" with a walking stick until it broke, and hitting her with hand weights. After that incident, the "girlfriend" fled the house, assisted by her employer and the women's advocacy group Women Helping Battered Women.
Other instances against both women included forcing or coercing the women to either fight or have sex with each other while he watched, having the girlfriend eat her contacts as punishment for disobeying him, and putting a gun in his wife's mouth and telling her not to move because the safety wasn't on.
"You just took whatever happened and hoped it would end soon," said the "girlfriend." The wife said that "You had to do everything Kaseen said to do, otherwise, you were looking for a beating."
Smith, 34, once hosted a show called "KA Live," which aired weekly on Channel 15, a community access channel in Burlington. He is also a former coach for youth football in Essex and youth recreational basketball in Williston.
Smith's lawyers argued that neither woman ever sought medical help as a result of injuries allegedly inflicted by Smith. The two women conceded under questioning that Smith never abused any of their children and was well liked by the kids he coached.
The lawyers also questioned the veracity of some of what the women said Smith did. "A lot of the allegations are easily made, but difficult to disprove," Bill Skiff, one of Smith's lawyers, told Kupersmith.
Smith, in a brief statement just before Kupersmith sentenced him, apologized to his estranged wife and the ex-girlfriend for his conduct. "I'd like to say I'm sorry for the mental and physical anguish I caused the ladies and the kids," he said. "But I'm a peaceful guy now."
Chittenden County Deputy State's Attorney Rosemary Gretkowski said that "Anything less than this sentence would demean the severity and the atrocity of this abuse."
To his credit, Judge Kupersmith said that "Mr. Smith is a chronic batterer and abuser. I consider him to be a major danger to the community... What I have heard is credible evidence of years and years of physical, sexual and emotional abuse perpetrated on two women."
Showing posts with label VT. Show all posts
Showing posts with label VT. Show all posts
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Man held without for alleged rape, beating of partner in alleged burglaries
Michael Mays, 39, is being held without bail for charges that he beat and raped his burglary partner, who he brought with himself from California. Prosecutors said Mays repeated beat and strangled the woman until she foamed at the mouth, and threatened her with a large kitchen knife.
According to the Brattleboro (VT) Reformer, Local man accused of assault is denied bail:
The state submitted photos of the woman's injuries, marks on her neck, knee and a bruise to her eye, as evidence, which Judge Karen Carroll said were one of the main factors in her decision to hold Mays without bail.
Public Defender Paul Berch suggested the injuries may have been from a prior assault from another person but was not able to give details on this Friday. Mays has claimed, according to Kirkpatrick, that "he had not hurt her in any way and her injuries had occurred when she had fallen down in the snow."
The accusations were made after she and Mays were arrested for allegedly breaking into a camper trailer at the Water Treatment Facility on Riverside Street in Brattleboro.
Berch attempted to show that the fear of this charge was the reason why the alleged victim made the claims. "You have hypothetically two individuals from out of state, both with criminal records ... one of these persons says, 'Oh, I'm in trouble here, I'm going to say he did terrible things to me ... and get off scott free by saying the other one forced me to do it.'"
Trespassing charges carry a maximum sentence of 3 years, a $2000 fine, or both. The state also showed that the alleged victim did not make accusations about the assaults until after Mays was in custody.
She also claims Mays kept all her credit cards and her cell phone and had her Social Security checks deposited into his account. Brattleboro Police Lt. Robert Kirkpatrick said on the record Friday that Mays gave him the woman's identification card when they were arrested and she had no identification on her person.
When Deputy State's Attorney Ellen Kryger mentioned this in court Friday, Mays repeatedly laughed out loud and uttered an expletive suggesting that he did not believe this claim.
The woman alleges Mays would not allow her out of his sight and controlled what she could do and say. A number of times, police responded to reports of disturbances at the hotels, the woman told Kirkpatrick, but she had been too afraid to speak up about the abuse.
Mays faces life in prison and $152,000 in fines if convicted of all charges. His next hearing, a status conference, is set for March 17.
According to the Brattleboro (VT) Reformer, Local man accused of assault is denied bail:
The state submitted photos of the woman's injuries, marks on her neck, knee and a bruise to her eye, as evidence, which Judge Karen Carroll said were one of the main factors in her decision to hold Mays without bail.
Public Defender Paul Berch suggested the injuries may have been from a prior assault from another person but was not able to give details on this Friday. Mays has claimed, according to Kirkpatrick, that "he had not hurt her in any way and her injuries had occurred when she had fallen down in the snow."
The accusations were made after she and Mays were arrested for allegedly breaking into a camper trailer at the Water Treatment Facility on Riverside Street in Brattleboro.
Berch attempted to show that the fear of this charge was the reason why the alleged victim made the claims. "You have hypothetically two individuals from out of state, both with criminal records ... one of these persons says, 'Oh, I'm in trouble here, I'm going to say he did terrible things to me ... and get off scott free by saying the other one forced me to do it.'"
Trespassing charges carry a maximum sentence of 3 years, a $2000 fine, or both. The state also showed that the alleged victim did not make accusations about the assaults until after Mays was in custody.
She also claims Mays kept all her credit cards and her cell phone and had her Social Security checks deposited into his account. Brattleboro Police Lt. Robert Kirkpatrick said on the record Friday that Mays gave him the woman's identification card when they were arrested and she had no identification on her person.
When Deputy State's Attorney Ellen Kryger mentioned this in court Friday, Mays repeatedly laughed out loud and uttered an expletive suggesting that he did not believe this claim.
The woman alleges Mays would not allow her out of his sight and controlled what she could do and say. A number of times, police responded to reports of disturbances at the hotels, the woman told Kirkpatrick, but she had been too afraid to speak up about the abuse.
Mays faces life in prison and $152,000 in fines if convicted of all charges. His next hearing, a status conference, is set for March 17.
Sunday, December 2, 2007
Stable owner charged in assault of teen
David Vanderwerken, co-owner of Shanderhof Farm in Shaftsbury, is facing life in prison after allegedly forcing himself on a 17 year old girl. Vanderwerken, 49, pleaded not guilty to a felony charge of sexual assault with no consent and another felony charge of lewd and lascivious conduct. Sexual assault carries a penalty between 3 years and life imprisonment.
The assault allegedly occurred November 3rd. The girl, who had been riding at the stable for 5 years, had been subjected to unwanted kissing by Vanderwerken back in October.
According to the Rutland Herald:
The girl told police she was alone with Vanderwerken in his house for about 45 minutes. During this time, the girl told Gaiotti, Vanderwerken touched her several times under her clothes, kissed her and threw her onto a bed and laid on top of her.According to the affidavit, Vanderwerken asked the girl to spend the night at his home on Nov. 3 but she refused.The girl told police on Nov. 3 she told another teenager, who was 15, about the alleged incident just after it happened.
Gaiotti said she interviewed the second girl on Nov. 7.According to the affidavit, the younger girl said the older girl told her on Nov. 3 that "Vanderwerken had almost raped her."The younger girl told Gaiotti the older girl's hands were trembling and said she was pale and cried a little bit.The older girl told police she had gone to work on Nov. 4. The girl said Vanderwerken was outside of her workplace that day and waved to her through the window although he didn't come inside. The girl said she had never seen Vanderwerken there before.According to the affidavit, Vanderwerken also called the girl's home on Nov. 4 and asked to talk to her although she said he had never called her at home before.
In the affidavit, Gaiotti said she spoke with Vanderwerken November 5th, who claimed that the girl had a crush on him.
Over the course of the interview, according to the affidavit, Vanderwerken admitted he and the girl had kissed but said she had initiated it because she had a crush on him.Vanderwerken told police he did not want to say anything because he didn't want to damage the relationship between the girl and his wife."In closing, Vanderwerken admitted he 'did something wrong and probably should have changed the circumstances, hoping it would just kind of blow away and she would just go off on her own,'" the affidavit said.
Man denies sexual assault
The assault allegedly occurred November 3rd. The girl, who had been riding at the stable for 5 years, had been subjected to unwanted kissing by Vanderwerken back in October.
According to the Rutland Herald:
The girl told police she was alone with Vanderwerken in his house for about 45 minutes. During this time, the girl told Gaiotti, Vanderwerken touched her several times under her clothes, kissed her and threw her onto a bed and laid on top of her.According to the affidavit, Vanderwerken asked the girl to spend the night at his home on Nov. 3 but she refused.The girl told police on Nov. 3 she told another teenager, who was 15, about the alleged incident just after it happened.
Gaiotti said she interviewed the second girl on Nov. 7.According to the affidavit, the younger girl said the older girl told her on Nov. 3 that "Vanderwerken had almost raped her."The younger girl told Gaiotti the older girl's hands were trembling and said she was pale and cried a little bit.The older girl told police she had gone to work on Nov. 4. The girl said Vanderwerken was outside of her workplace that day and waved to her through the window although he didn't come inside. The girl said she had never seen Vanderwerken there before.According to the affidavit, Vanderwerken also called the girl's home on Nov. 4 and asked to talk to her although she said he had never called her at home before.
In the affidavit, Gaiotti said she spoke with Vanderwerken November 5th, who claimed that the girl had a crush on him.
Over the course of the interview, according to the affidavit, Vanderwerken admitted he and the girl had kissed but said she had initiated it because she had a crush on him.Vanderwerken told police he did not want to say anything because he didn't want to damage the relationship between the girl and his wife."In closing, Vanderwerken admitted he 'did something wrong and probably should have changed the circumstances, hoping it would just kind of blow away and she would just go off on her own,'" the affidavit said.
Man denies sexual assault
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