12-10-15 New Jersey:A New Jersey man who admitted killing the Boy Scout leader he said had raped him decades earlier received a five-year sentence Thursday, according to reports.
Clark Fredericks, 50, will be eligible for parole in roughly nine months after getting the shortest possible state prison term for passion/provocation manslaughter and credit for time served since the 2012 stabbing, NJ Advance Media reported.
Fredericks, from Stillwater in Sussex County, pleaded guilty in June to the slaying of former Boy Scout leader and retired corrections officer Dennis Pegg, 68.
Fredericks had said in his plea statement in county Superior Court that his scout troop leader had sexually assaulted him and raped him “from the time I was 8 years old until I was 12 years old.”
“I said over and over to him 'how does it feel raping little kids now?'” Fredericks told the court about the killing. “I also repeated 'it's not so fun raping little kids now, is it?' At the end I slit his throat.”
Fredericks’ attorney, Sussex County Assistant Prosecutor Greg Mueller and Judge Thomas Critchley agreed Thursday that evidence backed up Fredericks’ account of Pegg’s sexual abuse, according to NJ Advance Media.
“I don't feel like I am sentencing someone who was committed to a criminal lifestyle. What happened to him as a child made him snap,” Critchley said. “It is clear that the young Mr. Fredericks was exploited, abused and damaged by someone who wormed his way into a position of authority.”
Police said Fredericks stabbed Pegg 30 times with a friend watching from Pegg’s doorway after Fredericks shared the story of his molestation during a night of drinking and cocaine on June 12, 2012. Fredericks’ friend, Robert Reynolds, faces charges of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, burglary and several other crimes, and he’s slated to stand trial next year, the New Jersey Herald reported.
Mueller read a statement from Pegg’s family Thursday calling Fredericks “a self-appointed judge, jury and executioner” despite any potential wrongdoing by Pegg.
“You chose to savagely end his life with your unlawful action,” the family said, according to NJ Advance Media. “Ironically, you asked for justice only after you killed the person you say harmed you."
Fredericks had also spoken out against taking vigilante action on someone for past wrongs at his June plea hearing. His mother Joan Fredericks praised his sentencing outside the Newton courtroom Thursday in an interview with the news outlet.
“I feel like my prayers have been answered,” she said. “When he gets home, the first thing I will say is, 'Welcome home and what would you like to eat?'" ..Source.. by Tobias Salinger
No comments:
Post a Comment
Comments are moderated, please keep to the issue of the post, as we are trying to have an intelligent, relevant discussion which develops the post. Much appreciated.