70-year-old Havre man sentenced to 100 years for incest

A 70-year-old Havre man received a 100-year sentence in state District Court in Havre Wednesday for multiple instances of sexual contact with a relative who was 10 at the time.

District Court Judge Greg Pinski from Great Falls, who appeared in Havre's District Court via video network, went against the recommendations of the two sexual psychologists who categorized Theodore Slate as a Tier I sexual risk offender suitable for community treatment and instead sentenced Slate to prison.

Under the sentence, Slate will not be eligible for parole for 25 years.

Pinski called Slate's molestation of the adopted relative and his refusal to take full responsibility "repugnant" and "abhorrent."

Witnesses who testified said Slate said in multiple interviews that it was the girl who initiated the contact and therefore was the aggressor, so it was not fully his fault.

"Make no mistake, your actions and your attempt to minimize them are appalling and indefensible," Pinski told Slate before issuing the sentence.

Slate pleaded guilty to incest early in May under a plea agreement.

His public defender, Regional Deputy Public Defender Kaydee Snipes Ruiz, argued that under Montana code 46-18-22 the judge can make an exception to the minimum sentence if there is reason to believe the defendant is a low risk to the community and can be rehabilitated without harm to said community.

During the three-hour sentencing hearing, psychologists Robert Page and Bowman Smelko, Hill County sheriff's deputy and lead investigator Rick Mumfrada and Probation and Parole Officer Katie Kuhr testified.

Page, whose analysis was ordered by the court, and Smelko, whose analysis was paid for by the defense, each had similar assessments, that Slate presented a low risk to re-offend and would do well with community-based treatment.

Although both recognized that Slate had "cognitive distortion" - he failed to acknowledge the seriousness of his offense and shifted blame on the victim - his lack of criminal history and psychoanalysis suggested he would be a good candidate for community treatment, they said.

"There is no prediction other than history," Page told Pinski. "Slate's lack of empathy can pose a challenge."

  Ruiz asked all four witnesses if her client cooperated throughout the investigation and all agreed he had. Slate admitted to the offense and cooperated in the interviews, they testified. Ruiz tried to establish that Slate's uninterrupted cooperation with the investigation was an indicator that he would be equally as cooperative and responsive should he be placed in community-based treatment. Page said, and was backed up by Smelko, that a long waiting line for prison treatment would probably mean Slate wouldn't get treatment for 20 years, if at all.

Assistant Attorney General Mary Cochenour, representing the state, and Probation and Parole Officer Katie Kuhr recommended the sentence Slate received.

Kuhr said she believed Slate to be such a danger to the community that he would require 24-7 supervision. That kind of supervision, she added, would be impossible to administer. Even an ankle bracelet with a GPS monitor would be insufficient because, while it could indicate his whereabouts, it could never tell if there were children nearby or if Slate was on the internet. Slate's porn addiction and frequenting of cyber-sex rooms had also been cited as problems.

Cochenour grilled Smelko, asking him why he thought that someone who, by his own admission, visited prostitutes, lacked empathy and had "sexually-deviant tendencies" was low risk.

Smelko said that, when compared to others in a similar category, Slate would pose a low risk.

Pinski disagreed when issuing the sentence. The seriousness of the offense, Slate's refusal to take full responsibility, and the damage incurred by the victim negated lack of criminal history, his cooperation or the testimony that prison treatment was not as effective as jail treatment, Pinski said.

The court rejected the Tier I designation and the recommendation for community treatment, Pinski said, adding that an offender who doesn't recognize the seriousness of his offense is not fit for community treatment.

Pinski said he hoped the lengthy sentence would help the victim cope and recover with the trauma she will probably have to deal with for a long time, if not for the rest of her life.