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Four Virginia Teens Get 12 Years in Statutory Rape

Henrico Circuit Judge Gary A. Hicks sentenced  four teenagers to the same prison terms yesterday -- 12 years with all but two years suspended -- in connection with an incident last February in which a 12-year-old had sex with each of them. At the time of the incident, the defendants were 17 and 18 years old.

The Assistant Henrico Commonwealth's Attorney  trying the case had asked for sentences exceeding the high end of Virginia Sentencing Guidelines of about 15 years in prison,  but declined comment about the victim after a 90-minute hearing yesterday that took place in a courtroom filled with families of the defendants but not the victim.

Evidence in the case showed that during a party Feb. 8, a shed was outfitted with a mattress and sheets behind one defendant's home. The sexual acts occurred there, as each of the four teens had intercourse with the girl. There was no testimony yesterday that the girl objected to her involvement with the defendants. Virginia law presumes that a child younger than 13 does not have the mental capacity to consensually engage in sexual activity.

Judge Hicks gave no explanation of his decision regarding the sentences imposed yesterday, which will require each of the teenagers to register as sexual offenders; the low end of sentencing guidelines for an active sentence was generally in the four-year range.

The sentences prompted a relative of one of the defendants to burst out cursing as he left the courtroom, prompting Hicks to recall the man and sentence him to 10 days in jail for contempt.

He was handcuffed and taken to jail.

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Mr. Stelly regularly appears in the courts of the City of Richmond, Henrico County, Chesterfield County, Goochland County, and Hanover County.

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