MONTPELIER, Vt. – The state decided Wednesday to offer sex offender treatment in prison to a man convicted of molesting a young girl.
Human Services Secretary Michael Smith said he was issuing the order so that Vermont District Court Judge Edward Cashman would impose a lengthy sentence on Mark Hulett who is ineligible for in-prison treatment under existing guidelines.
“The classification system cannot be used as an excuse not to mete out punishment,” Smith said. “As a state official and as a father I have got to look out for the well-being of Vermonters.”
Cashman had sentenced Hulett to serve a minimum of 60 days in jail so he could be offered sex offender treatment soon. Under existing state guidelines Hulett was ineligible for treatment until he completed his prison time.
Last week Cashman sparked a public outcry after he sentenced the 34-year-old Hulett after being convicted of sexually assaulting a girl, beginning when she was 6, over a four-year period.
In court documents filed Tuesday Cashman said he would have sentenced Hulett to a longer prison term if Hulett could have received treatment in prison.
Cashman said the best way to offer long-term protection to the public would be to have Hulett begin sex offender treatment as soon as possible. Cashman said he feared that if the treatment were delayed for a number of years it would be less effective.
While Hulett’s sentence called for a 60 day minimum, a number of conditions could have returned him to prison for as long as life if he failed to live up to the requirements of his release.
The Department of Corrections classifies Hulett at low-risk to re-offend. Under the department’s previous rules only the most dangerous sex offenders were eligible for in-prison treatment.
“I have decided to take that issue off the table,” Smith said. “What I have decided to do for Mr. Hulett is make sure that the judge doesn’t use this as an excuse for letting Mr. Hulett go.
“We will provide treatment in prison for Mr. Hulett. In return I would hope the court would decide to side with the prosecutors,” he said.
Chittenden County prosecutors had asked for a minimum of eight years in prison.
Smith said the change in treatment options he was ordering would be for Hulett and, if needed, future inmates. “What I am saying is that if judges are going to use this as an excuse then I will provide treatment,” Smith said.
Smith said the change in policy would be communicated to Cashman via the Vermont Attorney General’s office and prosecutors.
Prosecutors will be back in court on Friday asking Cashman to reconsider the decision.
Neither prosecutors nor Hulett’s attorney, Mark Kaplan, could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
Jane Woodruff, the head of the Vermont State’s Attorney’s and Sheriff’s Association, said Cashman’s complicated sentence for Hulett made it difficult for many lawmakers to understand.
The basic sentence is 60 days to 10 years in prison. After the 60 days Hulett would be in the community, but he would be under intense supervision by the Department of Corrections. If at any point he failed to abide by his conditions he could be returned to prison immediately to serve out the full sentence.
A second sentence, which would begin after the 10-year sentence was completed, would place Hulett on probation for life. If he then violated the terms of his condition he could be sent to prison for life.
“It was portrayed as only a 60-day sentence and it’s not. I think that’s been lost,” Woodruff said.
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