Stoddard man sentenced to 23 to 50 years in prison for child sex assaults - SentinelSource...

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Stoddard man sentenced to 23 to 50 years in prison for child sex assaults

By ALYSSA DANDREA Sentinel Staff | Posted: Thursday, October 10, 2013 12:00 pm A Stoddard man will spend the next 23 to 50 years in N.H. State Prison for sexually abusing two children he knew. But the victims mother told a Keene court Wednesday that anything less than life in prison without parole for 48-year-old David Young is not enough after the heartache and turmoil he inflicted on her family. I cant fix what was done, she said amid tears. I feel like my heart is stopping and being ripped out of my chest. Young appeared in Cheshire County Superior Court on Wednesday, where he pleaded guilty to three counts of aggravated felonious sexual assault and one count of attempted aggravated felonious sexual assault. Young sexually assaulted a child between December 2006 and December 2011, from when the girl was in 5th grade to when she was in 9th grade, according to court documents. More recently, Young attempted to have sex with the girl, now a teenager, between March 4 and March 8. In February, Young sexually assaulted another teenager, said Assistant Cheshire County Attorney John M. Gasaway, who prosecuted Young. A third victim also came forward during the course of an investigation by N.H. State Police and the Cheshire County Attorneys Office, but no charges were ever filed against Young in connection with that alleged case of sexual abuse. Young said Wednesday he engaged in sex acts with all three children. He apologized for how his actions permanently affected the victims and their family. Everything that I did was my fault, Young wrote in a statement read by his public defender, Meredith V. Lugo. Lugo said Young did not want the case to go to trial because the victims had suffered enough, and thats why he agreed to a plea deal. While the victims chose not to speak at the hearing, each prepared statements that an employee of the Division of Children, Youth and Families read on their behalf. All three said they want Young behind bars where he cant hurt another child.

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Stoddard man sentenced to 23 to 50 years in prison for child sex assaults - SentinelSource... Page 2 of 2

This is one injury that cannot be fixed by boo-boo cream and a Band-Aid, one victim wrote. Its as if a demon keeps rearing its ugly head and theres no way to escape the injury Young caused her, she said. For a second victim, healthy relationships are near-impossible now because of what Young did. I hold everything inside because thats what he told me to do ... she wrote. It was to be a secret no one could know. Prior to the victims statements being read, their mother shared with the court her anguish and the many sleepless nights shes had since March, when Young was arrested on the sexual assault charges. I should have known. I should have seen. I should have protected them, she said. While Wednesdays hearing focused on instances of sexual abuse in the area, attorneys from both sides spoke about how Young sexually abused one of the victims in another state prior to December 2006. But Gasaway said the other states prosecutors agreed not to pursue charges if Young admitted to sexually assaulting the victim in New Hampshire, and if the judge sentenced him to a 23- to 50year N.H. State Prison sentence. The plea agreement reached by attorneys proposed the following: On two of the three counts of aggravated felonious sexual assault, attorneys recommended that Judge John C. Kissinger Jr. sentence Young to a 23- to 50-year prison sentence. On a third count of aggravated felonious sexual assault and one count of attempted aggravated felonious sexual assault, they recommended a concurrent 10- to 20-year prison sentence, all suspended. After hearing the evidence presented during Wednesdays hearing, Kissinger granted the attorneys request, while noting a prison sentence of any length will never erase what Young did. Despicable doesnt even begin to describe how awful it is, Kissinger said. Kissinger ordered Young to have no contact with the victims, to continue mental health counseling and to register as a sex offender upon his release from prison. Every court case has its troubling parts, Kissinger said, but hearing the testimony against Young was especially disturbing. Kissinger thanked the victims and their mother for their courage and for coming forward under such difficult circumstances. Theres really no sentence that I could impose today to address the pain and the hurt caused by these acts.

http://www.sentinelsource.com/news/local/stoddard-man-sentenced-to-to-years-in-prison-... 10/13/2013