A convicted sex offender whose 60-day jail sentence in a child sex abuse case more than a decade ago sparked a national outcry has reached a plea agreement on a new child porn charge.
Mark Hulett, 48, of Ferrisburgh, reached that plea agreement this week with federal prosecutors who brought the child pornography charge against him in May.
The 10-page plea agreement, signed by Hulett, his attorney, and the prosecutor, was filed Tuesday in federal court in Burlington. A court hearing has been set for Sept. 18 where a judge will take up the plea agreement.
The plea agreement stated that “the court may impose the following sentence on (Hulett’s) plea: not less than 10 years and up to 20 years imprisonment.”
Attorney David McColgin, a public defender representing Hulett, could not immediately be reached Wednesday for comment.
Kraig LaPorte, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Vermont, said Wednesday he couldn’t comment on the plea agreement other than to say that the hearing has been set for next month for the judge to consider it.
Hulett was one of eight men charged in May in a child pornography crackdown as part of an joint operation involving several federal and state authorities.
He has been jailed since his arraignment in the new case.
In 2006, Judge Edward Cashman, then presiding in Chittenden County Superior criminal court in Burlington, initially sentenced Hulett to 60 days in jail on his conviction for having sexual contact with a girl over a four-year period, starting when the girl was 6.
Hulett’s convictions in that case were on two charges of aggravated sexual assault and one charge of lewd and lascivious conduct with a child.
Cashman said at the time that he imposed the 60-day sentence to ensure Hulett received prompt sex offender treatment, a program that was offered only when offenders were near the completion of their prison terms.
That jail sentence set off a public uproar, which included calls to have Cashman removed from the bench and a media firestorm that had Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly calling Cashman the “worst judge in America.”
Hulett was later resentenced to three years in jail and placed on probation for life after the Vermont Department of Corrections changed its policy, allowing treatment to be offered earlier for inmates.
In the latest case, authorities searched a residence where Hulett lived on May 14 after receiving a tip in October from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Hulett was among eight people arrested when authorities executed search warrants on several residences in Vermont during the week of May 13, all based on tips received from the missing children organization.
In Hulett’s case, the internet connection was eventually traced to an address in Ferrisburgh where he was living, according to court filings. At the time, Hulett was also on the Vermont Sex Offender Registry.
When authorities questioned Hulett about child pornography he denied possessing any, according to an affidavit filed in the case. He did tell investigators that had visited a “nudism website” the affidavit stated.
According to the plea agreement, authorities found about 2,200 images of child pornography on Hulett’s computer.
