"I feel bad for the family" say's Rapist (what about the victim?)

[Law Dawg]

Apr 13, 2004
A Las Cruces construction worker convicted in January of kidnapping and
raping a 19-year-old woman at gunpoint was sentenced Monday to 34 years
in prison, the maximum possible for the crimes.
The woman was taken from the Albertson's Grocery parking lot on Lohman
Avenue on July 17, 2003. After being assaulted at a remote spot near the
Rio Grande, she was released in the village of Doña Ana.
While her father urged a stiff sentence Monday as a way to encourage
more assault victims to come forward, defendant Jesse Cook, 25, asked
for leniency.
"I feel bad for the (victim's) family," Cook said. "I hope you show me
some leniency. A maximum sentence would be cruel and unjust."
Cook's wife, Linda, told the judge a maximum sentence would be a death
sentence for her because she is disabled and 60 years old.
Cook's attorney Stephen Ryan also asked for leniency, saying this was
Cook's first set of felony convictions.
"This is the first time my daughter has been raped," the victim's father
responded.
The victim was not in court for the sentencing, but her father spoke for
the family.
"Last summer my daughter was happy-go-lucky, feeling safe and
optimistic, then Jesse Cook terrorized her at gunpoint," the father
said. "Those actions have changed my daughter's life."
The father said his daughter now lives with the care of psychologist and
takes medications for anxiety and panic attacks. He also said she has
stopped attending college and just lives day to day.
"The police did their job," the father told the court. "The District
Attorney did her job and Your Honor, it's time for you to do your job."
"Jesse Cook told my daughter rapists don't spend much time in jail
around here," the father said. "Our community needs your help, Judge.
Use your power to show future victims who may be reluctant to come
forward in this community by sentencing him to the maximum. Do it for
our community, but mostly for the victim who is not here."
Cook initially confessed following his arrest five days after the rape,
but later recanted, saying he didn't remember anything of that day. Cook
said he had been taking drugs since he was 12 years old.
"Jesse and I agree this is a blessing," Linda Cook said. "Jesse doesn't
smoke or take drugs anymore and he has found the Lord."
Prosecutor Jeff Lahann said the diagnostic evaluation showed Cook felt
no remorse, shows anti-social behavior and acts on impulse.
District Judge Stephen Bridgforth found aggravated circumstances that
added additional prison time to the kidnap and rape because a gun was
used in the crimes. The sentence on the four counts is to be served
consecutively.
Under state sentencing laws, Cook must serve 85 percent of his sentence
before he is eligible for parole.
Outside the court, the victim's father described the last year of the
lives of his whole family as "a living hell."
"We are grateful for the judge's decision," the father said. "Our hearts
go out to those whose cases have not been solved, to the victims and
their families."
The father said it is time the community stands up and contributes to
helping police with cases like the rape and murder of New Mexico State
University graduate student Katie Sepich, whose body was found last
Labor Day weekend at the old Las Cruces dump.
"My daughter has good days and bad days," the father said. "She has a
lot of bad days. It's not easy for a rape victim to get over it."

"To error is human, while some humans are errors"