Ex-officer sentenced in assaults

Thursday, April 1, 2004 | 9:56 a.m.

A former Metro Police officer who District Judge Donald Mosley said was "guilty as hell" of sexually assaulting a Henderson teen was sentenced to probation Wednesday in connection with the assaults.

Jason Woodard, 30, had used an Alford plea, which is the equivalent of no contest, in exchange for prosecutors reducing the charges against him in January. Woodard said he plea bargained because he feared putting his family and thevictim's family through the process of a trial. The victim, now 20, is a relative of Woodard through marriage who baby-sat for Woodard's children between the ages of 13 and 16.

"I feel horrible about the effect I had on the family and I'm looking forward to moving on with my life," Woodard told the judge.

His lawyer, David Chesnoff, also told Mosley his client did not want to risk being convicted of the initial three sexual assault charges, which would have carried a sentence of 20 years to life. The prosecution similarly said they did not want to risk losing the case, noting that because the victim did not come forward until she was 18, there was no physical evidence of the assaults.

The victim's mother, supported by numerous family members, told Mosley she understood that probation was part of the plea agreement and that the agreement was necessary to guarantee a guilty judgment.

The mother did, however, express her own pain at what her daughter went through and read a letter from her daughter explaining the pain she has gone through. Having trusted Woodard, the victim said in the letter that the incidents made her lose trust with everyone and that she has considered suicide.

"He violated me and I didn't know what to do," the victim said in the letter. "He told me not to tell anyone and that if I did no one would believe me.

"I can't be in a relationship without remembering my pain," the victim continued. "There isn't a day that goes by without wondering why God let this happen."

Prior to pronouncing Woodard guilty, Mosley said the victim's letter had a "ring of truth to it."

"How do these young people come up with these explanations of things if it didn't happen?" Mosley asked, having sentenced an 81-year-old man to nine years in prison for molesting a 6-year-old girl less than an hour earlier Wednesday morning.

Mosley, however, followed the recommendation to sentence Woodard to probation, telling Woodard this was Woodard's "only chance."

The probation, which includes possible counseling and $1,000 in restitution, was part of the plea agreement Woodard signed with prosecutors that reduced his charges to a single count of attempted lewdness with a minor under the age of 14.