Prison sex ruled consensual

By Matt Pordum

Wednesday, April 20, 2005 | 9:19 a.m.

A judge said after reading letters written by a female prison inmate to a former prison guard it was clear that the sex the pair had was consensual so he didn't buy her story that the guard sexually assaulted her.

District Judge Donald Molsey offered that assessment Tuesday as he sentenced former correctional officer Randy Easter and inmate Korinda Martin to probation for having sex in prison.

Easter and Martin both previously pleaded guilty to criminal charges related to the incident in January. Their sexual encounters at Southern Nevada Women's Facility resulted in Martin giving birth to a boy in January 2004. They were both originally to be sentenced in March, but Mosley postponed sentencing after Martin alleged Easter got her intoxicated with vodka and prescription pain killers and sexually assaulted her in a closet at the state women's prison in North Las Vegas.

At the March hearing Easter's attorney, Peter Christiansen, disputed Martin's account saying letters written by Martin to Easter would prove the sex was consensual.

Mosley said he wanted to read the letters and on Tuesday read a portion of one that he said seemed to dispel any of Martin's claims that the sex wasn't consensual.

The judge read from the back of a picture Martin had given Easter, which included a sexually suggestive line, and said, "I love you baby."

Mosley said, "If that's a letter from a victim I'd be shocked."

The judge then handed down a suspended prison sentence of one to three years for Easter but suspended that sentence to put him on probation for up to three years.

Mosley issued Martin to a suspended term of one year at the Clark County Detention Center and placed her on probation not to exceed three years.

Mosley ran Martin's probation consecutive to the three- to 15-year prison sentence she is currently serving on a robbery conviction. Martin will not begin serving probation until she completes any term of parole she receives upon her release from prison.

Martin's attorney, Scott Olifant, said Martin, who has already served roughly four years of her prison term, has already been before the parole board and is currently awaiting a decision.

"I'm not completely satisfied, but given the judge's inclination prior to imposing sentencing I'm relieved. It appears this will not affect her ability to get parole, but instead just add more time under the supervision of the law after she's completed her eventual parole," he said.

Easter said there was no reason for what happened and the incident has cost him his "pride, dignity, respect and everything I've ever stood for." He reiterated comments he made before Mosley in March saying he wanted to be part of his and Martin's son's life.

"I'm not the victim in this case. Ms. Martin is not the victim in this case, The victim is ... my son," Easter said."

Easter, who was served with child support papers after his March court appearance, said he would be making payments now that his case is settled. Christiansen said he advised Easter not to seek contact with the child or involve himself financially until after the criminal case had ended. The child is currently with Martin's mother.

The former prison guard told Mosley he would like to make sure no other prison guards would commit the crime he did and said he would go to different prisons and explain what happened to officers and tell them how it has ruined his life.

As part of Easter's probation Mosley ordered he perform 16 hours of community service a month and said that Easter's service "might well be spent speaking to other guards."

Christiansen said Easter had "never been in trouble with the law" and was essentially a "good old boy from Oklahoma." The reference brought a slight grin to Mosley's face because the judge is an Oklahoma native.

In successfully asking Mosley to follow the Department of Parole and Probation's recommendation in sentencing Easter, Christiansen said Easter had already been punished enough for the incident as he has been divorced by his wife, lost his job and nearly lost his house as a result of the scandal.

In addition to the letters, Christiansen said there were hundreds of hours of taped phone calls from prison made by Martin to Easter that shared the same sorts of sentiments as the letter Mosley chose to read a portion of in court.

Christiansen said his only regret was not being able to secure a gross misdemeanor conviction for Easter "because the felony conviction will follow him the rest of his life."

Olifant unsuccessfully tried to convince Mosley that Martin couldn't be held criminally responsible for the actions because she was a prisoner and "what the guard says goes."

"The bottom line is yes isn't yes unless you have freedom from the fear of saying no," Olifant said.

Olifant said he is awaiting the setting of a trial date for a federal civil suit Martin has filed against Easter, Corrections Corp. of America, which operates the Southern Nevada Women's Facility, the state Department of Corrections and Gov. Kenny Guinn.

When given an opportunity to address the court, Martin refused.

Chief Deputy Attorney General Gerald Gardner, who prosecuted the case, said the case was a "clear case of consensual action between two adults" and "we believe it was a fair resolution, a fair outcome for all involved."