The first jury trial in Bennington County since the pandemic began has resulted in a prison sentence of seven to 20 years for sexually assaulting a child.
Joshua Boyer, 35, was convicted this summer of assaulting a teenage girl he knew in either 2017 or 2018 in Bennington. The case restarted the county’s criminal jury trials, which had been suspended in March 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Boyer had been facing a potential sentence of up to life in prison, because of his three previous felony convictions. Deputy State’s Attorney Alex Burke asked for a sentence of 10 years to life; public defender Kate Lamson requested three to 15 years at the sentencing hearing Nov. 23.
Superior Judge Cortland Corsones said his sentencing decision considered such factors as the seriousness of the crime, Boyer’s position of trust over the girl, and the harm that the assault has caused in her life.
The judge also cited several mitigating factors, including the lack of a sex-related offense on Boyer’s criminal record, his strong support group of family and friends, and his remorse for his actions.
“I’m sorry for everyone involved in this situation,” Boyer told the court. “I’m not the monster you’ve seen on paper.”
The victim, who testified during the trial, declined to attend the sentencing.
The jury had acquitted Boyer of the two charges he originally faced — repeated aggravated sexual assault on a child and first-degree aggravated domestic assault. He was found guilty of a “lesser included offense,” which the state had asked the court to allow the jury to consider if it didn’t find him guilty of the repeated assault charge.
Boyer’s first trial in 2019 ended in a mistrial because of juror misconduct. While held without bail at a Vermont facility since April 2018, he got sick with Covid-19.
— Tiffany Tan
