11/9/2009 10:59:00 PM
Hellman gets 34 years in prison on sex charges
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| Andrew Bernard Hellman, 50 |
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By Lisa Irish
The Daily Courier
Yavapai County Superior Court Judge William T. Kiger sentenced Andrew Bernard Hellman to 34 years in prison and lifetime probation Monday for child molestation and indecent exposure charges.
Hellman pled guilty Friday, Oct. 9, 2009, to two counts of child molestation, six counts of attempted child molestation, and four counts of indecent exposure.
Police arrested Hellman, 50, of Dewey-Humboldt, in October 2008 after an acquaintance told police Hellman said he had been molesting his daughters when the acquaintance confronted him about some suspicious behavior.
The victims said the molestations began in 2004 and ended with Hellman's arrest.
When Kiger asked Hellman if he had anything he'd like to say, Hellman asked lead defense attorney Bruce Griffen if the judge had received his letter. After he heard Kiger had, then Hellman said "No, your honor."
Kiger also asked Deputy Yavapai County Attorney Matthew Cochran, the lead prosecutor, if he had anything to add and Cochran said he did not.
Kiger told the 13 people at the sentencing that some of the mitigating factors were that Hellman had served the county in his work with the fire department, that doctors said there was little likelihood that he would repeat this conduct again, and that Hellman had expressed great remorse for his behavior.
"Mr. Hellman, you have family support. Although they universally are shocked and find your conduct absolutely reprehensible, they support you as a person and will continue to support you," Kiger said.
"You had the right to have a jury trial of your own, but by taking the plea agreement you have spared the victims a second victimization from coming into court."
On the aggravating side, Kiger said, Hellman caused "extensive harm to two victims from an emotional and mental standpoint to a point there is concern whether there can be a productive, normal life for these people." When Kiger said that, Hellman hung his head low as he sat next to his defense attorney.
Kiger pointed out the offenses included two major victims and two other victims as well. Kiger also mentioned Hellman's previous assault charge on his son as an aggravating factor.
"You have victimized your whole family by your conduct." Kiger said to Hellman. "You were in a position of trust and you violated that position of trust."
"This was not an instance of a mistake or two, this was a course of conduct over a period of years," Kiger said. "Mr. Hellman, you're going to have to go to the Department of Corrections. The mitigating and aggravating factors, they balance each other out."
Hellman's plea agreement called for a prison term of no less than 20 years with a maximum of 143 years in prison. Kiger sentenced Hellman to 17 years in prison for each of the two molestation charges. Those sentences are consecutive so after Hellman serves 17 years for the first charge, he will start serving the next 17 years for the second charge. In addition Kiger sentenced Hellman to lifetime probation for two counts of attempted child molestation and two counts of indecent exposure.
He also sentenced Hellman to 10 years in prison for each of four counts of attempted child molestation. Hellman must serve each 10-year sentence concurrently, or at the same time, as the 17-year sentences for child molestation.
Kiger also sentenced Hellman to 365 days in the county jail for each of two counts of indecent exposure and gave him credit in both cases for the time he already has served in county jail.
Kiger said Hellman also must pay restitution, but he could not set an amount and make that part of the order at this time.
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Posted: Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Article comment by:
My brothers keeper
AforgivenBecauseTrulyRepentant, The scripture you referred to was I Corinthians 5:1-5. I guess your argument comes down to, has Andrew truly repented for his crimes? The purpose of this story was to encourage the young man to repent; he was turned over to the wiles of the devil to allow him to realize the foolishness of self righteousness. The bottom line Paul encouraged the people in his church to pray for the young man. I do hope you are praying for your relative Andrew; he needs your prayers as much as the rest of the family. The children are not the only victims in this tragedy. It is finished so lets let the healing begin. The first step is to remove the monkey from your back by forgiving him and accept his plea for forgiveness. The LORD already forgave so why can’t we? It is not really over it just a new chapter.
Posted: Sunday, November 15, 2009
Article comment by:
My brothers keeper
Amanda, I am a victim, I was raped as a child and molested for several years by different pedophiles; I am completely aware of the sentence that is given the victims. I am trying to tell you the only way to move on is by doing as Jesus prescribed, “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against”. Striving Christian, the victims will be better off if they can find it in their hearts to forgive. There is no moving on until they do. I was stuck in that rut for almost 30 years and when I forgave even though the attackers were long gone that was the only way to get the monkey off my back. Andrew has been judged and he will suffer the rest of his life, so why do we have to continue the cycle of hate and anger, can we not let it go and move on? Let the dead bury the dead, the living have to rise above all of this and somehow heal, learn from this experience help others through the muck and mire.
Posted: Saturday, November 14, 2009
Article comment by:
AforgivenBecauseTrulyRepentant
I agree with Amanda... and actually if y'all talking about God, I will be careful to not talk in His name and mislead others through false believes. The Bible say something rather scary concerning this attitude. Also the Bible say that if there is anyone amongst us (the Church) who has committed incest, to deliver that person to Satan. Unfortunately I don't have the reference on me but it is in one of the epistles of Paul I think... I will look it up later. I think God has a rather virulent opinion about people who hurt little children, Jesus even said that it would be better for such a person to be thrown to the sea with a weight around his neck.... (that might give us a clear idea on God's opinion of pedophiles). Now some say that Andrew turned himself in. As a matter of fact he didn't. A relative was suspecting foul play and interrogated him, thinking that he was up to something else. As you can imagine when he confessed everything, that relative went ahead and worked with the police to get Andrew arrested. That is a fact. Second Andrew has shown "remorse" in many ways in the past. That is another fact. So forgive me if I don't agree with the Let-us-all-forgive-Andrew-because-God-has-forgiven-him people. My personal experience with Andrew in the past, since we are related, and with victims of sexual abuse, have taught me something about the cunning, deceiving, and "fakery remorseful' attitude of pedophiles. As a matter of fact, the one call Andrew was entitled of at his arrest was to call the relative who turned him in, to blame that person for his new misadventure with the justice system.... Now that is to explain why I don't believe in Andrew's repentance, unless God was to convince me Himself... on the other hand I don't care if he had repented or not. That is between God and himself. I sure hope for his soul he did, but I won't lose my sleep on seeing him changed. We have prayed long enough to see change in that man for other unrelated issues. My husband and I know what we have been told to do when we sought God's face on the matter and we won't be seeking any contact with that man unless there is a clear situation when we feel compelled to do it. Now I do believe that we will be judged with the measure we've judged (judged is a very different from forgiven... look up in the dictionary if you don't believe me). That is why I have asked God to keep my heart in the right place and help me not to the judge the man but his sin. His sin is indeed heinous and it doesn't matter how much he might have turned his life around, his sin remains heinous and the consequences on the kids are there. To be honest when we heard about the sentencing, all my husband and I could think was "'Thank you Lord it is over, the victims can focus on healing now. " When we heard about Andrew being repentant we just said that maybe he was but that isn't of our concerns, too many times he had broken our hearts by pretending to have changed. God is judge, He knows if he really has changed but as for us, we will focus on living our lives and leaving that part of our past behind us.
Posted: Friday, November 13, 2009
Article comment by:
Amanda
i am so sick of all the jesus talk. if it makes you feel better, then alright. but as of now, the victims are the only one serving life sentences. think about that.
Posted: Friday, November 13, 2009
Article comment by:
Striving Christian
I am compelled to comment, but with no disrespect intended.
"only one that can forgive", "we are forgiven by the way we forgive"? Which is it? Are we suppose to forgive or is there only one that can? Look, we do not have the right, nor do we have the spiritual duty, to forgive anyone, unless we are the one who has been sinned against. The Victims are the only ones that need to decide to forgive or not forgive. Don't try and tell these angry, disgusted, and in some instances, hateful people that they must forgive this man or face the wrath of God come judgement day. If you want to have that misguided belief thats fine. Don't try and misguide others. They have the absolute right to feel and express those feelings even in the big mans eyes. It is their actions in life that will determine their outcome. "Judge not lest thee be judged". If they havent molested a child, then they have the right to judge those that have. It doesnt mean forgive all criminals and let them be free to continue their sins or face the flames of hades. God knows we are mere humans. We need to vent our frustrations and disgust for those who dont follow the basic rules, whether mans or Gods, when most of us do. Fortunately, we are given that venue here. My hope is that this man will never be given the opportunity to do this again, and that the victims can have some semblance of a normal life in their future.
Posted: Friday, November 13, 2009
Article comment by:
Deciding for God?
God has already decided to forgive him? My brother's keeper would have to be God to make such a presumptive statement. Do you know anyone's heart that well?
Posted: Friday, November 13, 2009
Article comment by:
No name provided
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Posted: Thursday, November 12, 2009
Article comment by:
My brothers keeper
No name provided, God has already decided to forgive him. Andrew has realized his mistake, his stupidity, his sin if you will and he turned himself in. He has brought shame on his family, his community and himself. He has turned to his victims who include you and he has asked for forgiveness. We have all fallen short of the glory of the Living God but He still saw fit to send His Son to this earth to wash away our sin with His own blood. Do you really want to sit in the judgment seat and condemn everyone to death who ‘crosses the line’?
Posted: Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Article comment by:
No name provided
The penalty for child molesters, rapists and murderers should be death. That would save the taxpayers billions of dollars keeping them alive prison, it would also serve as a well needed deterrent. Let God decide if he wants to forgive them.
Posted: Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Article comment by:
MK
To My Brother's Keeper, Well said, I couldn't have said it better myself.
Posted: Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Article comment by:
Laura
The Hellman family has lived in this community for years and done many wonderful things in and around the Tri City area. This man is absolutely not an example of the family members I have known and respected with this sort of horrific behaviour. I will pray for his family everyday for recovery. What he did was not only totally unacceptable in this world, no matter how you look at it, but just as others have already said, he will answer to our Heavenly Father...
Posted: Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Article comment by:
Put our CHILDREN FIRST!!!
Lets see. Hellman molested and attempted to molest his daughters since 2004, and you call that stupid. Stupid is forgetting to pay a bill or yelling at your child for doing something they didn't do. Molesting a child is heinous. And! who are you to forgive him? He didn't do anything to you. It's up to the people he hurt to forgive him. And unless you are God, you have no idea what is in his heart. I was raised in Humboldt with the Hellmans. I pray for all of them but I hope Andy is in prison for the rest of his life, as I don't want any of my grandchildren to have to worry about him or any other child molester being out on the streets. By the way, most people that get caught doing something wrong are remorseful. But, if they hadn't been caught, they would most likely still be doing it. If you will look stupid up in the dictionary, my brother's keeper, it will have your comment!!
Posted: Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Article comment by:
Tricia Cable
A GOOD MAN!!!! I think not. No man with even a shred of decency would do something like this to children,if it were my brother I would sever all ties.Very strange that you're god(w/a little g, would judge decent folks who are disgusted w/ crimes against children and be forgiving and kind to pedophiles.
Posted: Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Article comment by:
My brothers keeper
Andrew is a good man that did something stupid. He will pay his debt to society the way the law prescribes. He may or may not ever get out of jail but no matter what people say or write about him he is forgiven by the only one who can forgive. I just pray that others realize that we are forgiven the same way we forgive. I was molested as a child and I speak from knowledge and understanding, life does not rotate around stupid choices but on understanding, interaction, serving and growing into a better person. Andrew is a better man today than he was last year and he realizes the up hill battle he faces. I feel sorry for all the people who condemn him to death because you will be judged exactly as you judge. It is right we pray for him and his family so that forgiveness becomes the rule of the day and his life becomes more than yesterdays news. God bless you my brother I will always be there for you.
Posted: Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Article comment by:
Budget cut special jails
True, a convicted child molester MUST serve every single day of his sentence. False, any inmate that has a chance to take him out will attempt to do just that. Unfortunately, in AZ sex offenders aren't mixed with the general prison population, even in the county jail where Hellman has been for over a year. I suppose that could be a problem in smaller counties, but I don't know.
Posted: Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Article comment by:
No Early Release
Just FYI...in AZ, a convicted child molester MUST serve every single day of his sentence. This guy will NOT be let out early for good behavior. And being a sex offender is NOT an easy way to live life behind bars. This guy will be a target every day for the rest of his life. Any inmate that has a chance to take him out will attempt to do just that. Believe me, this guys life on earth will be closer to hell than any of you will ever have to experience.
Posted: Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Article comment by:
Just Passing Through
Whether this man is 83 or 84 when he gets out...what you must know...there are 83 to 84 year old child molesters. That's not much comfort for someone who knows what it is like to be abused at the hands of one who calls himself dad. Those are the very hands and arms they should have been able to run to for refuge.
Remember there is One Father that sees all and knows all. True judgement is yet to come.
Posted: Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Article comment by:
Tom
To the people who think this guy is going to serve 34 years. Guess what. He'll be out in 15 or so. He gets 1/2 off for good behavior and some more for time served. Now do you think 15 years is a just punishment for 4 years of his molesting kids? He got a bargain because he was a public servent? He was on paid time while child molesting. You people who wish leniency should let him live with you & your kids for a decade.
Posted: Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Article comment by:
Lori & Nicholas-Friends of the Family
My Prayers to the Hellman family, they are all victims of this crime. May God be with them as they try to recover from the horriable things done by a man that was suppose to love and protect them. God's peace be with you as you move forword with your lives and put this all behind you.
Posted: Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Article comment by:
very disappointed
i am THE very disappointed! i wrote my opinion this morning above "lock him up" and i am not talking about his punishment. yea he got 34 years to sit in a "free room and board" with 3 meals a day on our taxpayers money. whoop deee doo!!!
what i am angry about is that while this man is "happy go lucky" in prison his victims are still out in the real world SUFFERING!!!! they may never recover from what has been done to them. they may not be able to handle relationships at any time. and on top of that, when you all say that he will be dead and gone, they will still be here dealing with the demons that man gave them!!! so either way it goes i feel that this pervert got a smack on the wrist!!!! and check out that smug grin on his mugshot!!! what does that tell you? sure doesnt look remorseful there!!!!!
oh and one more question for you "haters'" out there... how would you react if these victims were part of your loving family????
Posted: Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Article comment by:
Jeff
Thank you to Judge Kiger in this case. Many states let these people go with hardly probation. And as for these child molesters, a well know Radio/TV correspondent said it best. "They should all be incinerated". There is no cure for there sickness.
Posted: Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Article comment by:
Barbara B
Hang him? That would be too easy on him. How much punishment do I want? How about a slow and tortured painful death? How about letting him spend the rest of his days being the play-thing of one of the other demented perverts that we pay to keep alive in prison? The mind-set of lenient treatment for people who commit sexual crimes, especially against children, is as immoral as the crime itself. I can't believe the tolerance in the our society today. It will ultimately be our un-doing.
Posted: Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Article comment by:
To Very Disappointed
Are you disappointed they didn't hang him? Hellman will be 83 when he gets out and is likely to go out feet first before that. As for restitution, he probably doesn't have anything left at this point. Here's a legal question. Can his family disinherit him to avoid his share going to restitution?
Posted: Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Article comment by:
Gracie
Very Disappointed, I didn't see your suggestion for a sentence rather than what he got. Were you looking for the death penalty perhaps? Were you looking for the 143 years? Were you wanting him to start his prison term over again after he dies? He probably will die in prison, you know. If he doesn't, he will be about 84 years old when he gets out. How much punishment do you really want?
Posted: Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Article comment by:
very disappointed
Kiger told the 13 people at the sentencing that some of the mitigating factors were that Hellman had served the county in his work with the fire department, that doctors said there was little likelihood that he would repeat this conduct again, and that Hellman had expressed great remorse
SO THE JUDGE GETS LENIENT JUST BECAUSE THE PERVERT WORKED FOR THE FIRE DEPARTMENT? AND HAS SHOWN REMORSE? IF THAT WAS THE CASE ON HIM SHOWING REMORSE, HE WOULD NOT HAVE DONE IT IN THE FIRST PLACE!! REMORSE? THE GUY TRAUMATIZES HIS VICTIMS FOR 4 YEARS? AND HE IS REMORSEFUL? YEA REMORSEFUL HE GOT CAUGHT!!!
once again it looks like the victims lose in this case. i just hope that the "judge" allows the victims to get counseling at this man's expense!!!! make him pay for all the treatment that his victims have to go through to learn how to get on with their lives!
shame on you judge!!!!
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