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May 05, 2005

Supreme Court rules child abuser must remain in custody

MONTPELIER – The Vermont Supreme Court has rejected an appeal to release an alleged child sex abuser back into the community.

Casey Langlois is being held without bail for what local authorities are calling one of the worst sexual abuse cases in recent memory. The 24-year-old Roxbury resident, accused of committing more than 100 acts of sexual abuse over a period of two years on a now-11-year-old boy, faces the possibility of life in prison.

Washington County Judge Geoffrey Crawford said in a December bail review hearing he could not release the defendant without compromising the safety of children in the community. Langlois has been held without bail in the St. Johnsbury Regional Correctional Facility since his Nov. 19 arraignment.

Defense lawyer Kerry DeWolfe appealed Crawford's decision to the Supreme Court, which on Tuesday upheld the district court ruling.

In the Dec. 6 bail review hearing, DeWolfe argued unsuccessfully for the release of Langlois into his parents' custody. Citing psychiatric reports indicating Langlois was unlikely to re-offend in the short term, DeWolfe said Langlois' parents had agreed to provide nearly round-the-clock supervision in a rented apartment miles away from where the alleged abuse took place.

Then-Washington County State's Attorney Tom Kelly said Langlois has, in police interviews, admitted to abuses of the 11-year-old victim; Kelly said he doubted "there was a situation that could be created outside jail that wouldn't be a risk to the community."

Kelly's primary concern was the release of Langlois to his parents, who he called inappropriate custodians. According to court papers, members of Langlois' family, including his mother, approached Langlois more than a year ago to confront him about the alleged abuse.

"The defendant himself admits that as a result of that meeting, the family agreed he would not be alone with the victim," Kelly said during the Dec. 6 bail review hearing in Vermont District Court in Barre. Court papers indicate the abuses continued long after that meeting took place.

Last Wednesday, DeWolfe told a three-justice panel that Crawford's ruling constituted an "abuse of discretion" and that the lower court judge failed to adequately consider the range of conditions that could allow Langlois to leave prison while his trial unfolds.

The Supreme Court ruling, signed by Chief Justice Paul Reiber and Associate Justices Denise Johnson and John Dooley, said "evidence presented at the hearing… demonstrated that the defendant's parents may not be suitable custodians, and therefore the court did not abuse its discretion in ordering him held without bail."

The justices said if the defense can find alternative custodians, it should request another district court bail review hearing.

"Defendant did not present alternative custodians to the trial court, but if circumstances have changed, and defendant believes he can present the court with more suitable conditions of release, he is free to move the district court for a new bail hearing," the justices wrote.

DeWolfe said during the Wednesday hearing that the case would likely go to jury trial. The state offered Langlois a plea deal, DeWolfe said, but he found the resolution unacceptable. Nolan said the plea offer was made at the defense's request.

Vermont State Police and Social and Rehabilitation Services workers learned of the crimes after talking to the boy about his erratic behavior at school, according to sworn police testimony. The 11-year-old told a social worker and a state police trooper that Langlois had forced him to engage in sexual acts more than 100 times in two years. The series of assaults began when the boy was 9 years old, court papers said, with the last incident occurring Nov. 11.

Posted by Nealus at May 5, 2005 08:00 PM

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