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Mother of molestation victim in Pike Co. says she didn’t agree to probation sentence

By JOHN MUNFORD
jmunford@TheCitizenNews.com

A Pike County woman whose daughter was molested in 1998 contends she did not approve of the sentence handed down in the case by Superior Court Judge Johnnie L. Caldwell Jr., which the judge indicated at a press conference last week.

Last week, Caldwell defended the sentencing of Ben Hunton of Meansville, who pled guilty to the reduced charge of enticing a child for indecent purposes because the case file from the Pike County Sheriff’s Office was missing, the judge said. Caldwell noted that the victim and her family requested the 10-year probation sentence and first offender treatment Hunton received.

But the victim’s mother said Friday that she did not request that sentence and she had no idea Hunton was sentenced under the first offender act until the sentence was handed down in court.

During the sentencing hearing, Caldwell was told by assistant district attorney Gail Travillian that the victim and her family were made aware of what was to transpire at the hearing.

Caldwell declined to comment for this article.

The case was brought back into the public spotlight after a political mailing by Fayetteville attorney John Mrosek, who is opposing Caldwell for the Superior Court judgeship. The oversized postcard referred to six news articles, including one about the Hunton case, and Mrosek asked voters to examine the articles and the court documents on each case and make up their own mind.

The victim’s mother is particularly upset that Hunton is not on the state’s sex offender registry.

“We wanted other people to know what he had done,” the victim’s mother said.

Hunton was not required to register as a sex offender because the offense of enticing a child for indecent purposes is not one of those where registering for the statewide list is required.

As a first offender, Hunton’s criminal record will be cleared of the charge if he successfully completes his probation. If Hunton is charged with another crime, however, Caldwell could revoke the probation and force him to serve the remainder of his sentence in prison.

“That first offender doesn’t mean this is the first time he did it,” the victim’s mother said. “It’s just the first time he was caught.”

The victim’s mother did not protest the sentence, according to the transcript of the hearing.

The victim no longer lives in the area although her parents still do.

The victim’s mother said Travillian had said she couldn’t do anything with the case after the file went missing from the Pike County Sheriff’s Department.

Hunton received a 10-year probation sentence in addition to a $1,500 fine and payment of more than $10,000 for medical and counseling expenses.

Caldwell said the investigative case file compiled by the Pike County Sheriff’s Department has not been found since the case; had it not disappeared, Hunton would likely have faced prison time if found guilty, Caldwell said.

“It’s not all about the money,” the victim’s mother said. “No amount of money could ever replace what was taken from that child.”

Court documents also show that Travillian filed a motion to revoke Hunton’s bond before the case was scheduled to go to trial. Prosecutors alleged that Hunton followed the victim on May 15, 2001, and appeared at her place of employment July 10, 2001, “for purposes of harassing and intimidating said victim.”

Mrosek told The Citizen last week that the cases show Caldwell is soft on child molestation cases. All but one of the five cases called into question involved offenders receiving probation, but Caldwell said that was because prosecutors felt they didn’t have enough evidence to secure convictions.