ROCKLAND, Maine — A 53-year-old Rockland man was sentenced to 90 days in jail after admitting to furnishing liquor to a girl and then sexually assaulting her.
Edward A. Bernardo pleaded guilty March 9 in Knox County Superior Court to one count each of unlawful sexual touching and furnishing liquor to a minor. Seven other charges, including gross sexual assault, were dismissed as part of the sentencing agreement.
Justice Jeffrey Hjelm sentenced Bernardo to 364 days in jail with all but 90 days suspended. Bernardo also was placed on probation for a year.
One of his terms of probation is that he not have unsupervised contact with children younger than 16 years old without the permission of his probation officer.
According to the charge, he committed the offense in October 2010 in Rockland against the 14-year-old girl when she was unconscious or otherwise physically incapable of resisting and had not consented to the sexual contact.
Assistant District Attorney Chris Fernald said that the agreement was reached in consultation with the victim and her family. He said the family and the girl’s counselor felt that she would be further traumatized if she had to testify in court.
Hjelm repeatedly punishes sexual assault with barely a slap on the wrist. These reduced to nothing sentences have to end.
90 days? What a joke!
90 days??? WHAT??
90 days! Are you kidding me!? He’ll be out doing the same thing in three months.
Justice Jeffrey Hjelm sentenced Bernardo to 364 days in jail with all but 90 days suspended. Bernardo also was placed on probation for a year.
If he screws up while on probation he goes back to jail.
Jail term NOT ENOUGH!! He is old enough to know better… Needs more Jail Time…
Only for the remainder of the 364 day original sentence. Which is also not nearly long enough!
Well call the DA and ask him why they gave him such a good deal for pleading guilty.
Easy “win” for the stats board.
Yeah I’m sure he’ll listen to me. LOL
BS! They don’t even force them to fulfill their sentences if they screw up. Another two time convicted child rapist was just sentenced to a mere 6 months after raping a third victim and violating probation while awaiting trial. The wheels of mis-justice keep turning. Proof that only one person is responsible for the protection of you and your family (look in the mirror for the answer).
what if his screw up includes another underage girl or any other woman being sexually assaulted? Sorry, but this kind of crime deserves a longer sentence.
Geez, only 90 days and a traumatized victim? Weed farmers can get 5 years in the slam for growing some flowers on the back 40 with no victims.
90 days for the creepy old man – and a lifetime of horror for the victim.
Go to the search (top of story to the right) and type in “hjelm”, it really isn’t a unique ruling for the judge.
Glad he is off the street for life; phew all the other children will be safe now!
WHAT? This sentence is criminal!
Sweet deals are nothing new for Rushlau’s office, they’ve been making any deal to get a “W” in the win column for years, nevermind that this filth will be on the streets and a danger again in a short period of time. It’s understandable the victim would be further harmed, but how many more victims will be harmed in the future by this garbage?
90 days? For furnishing liquor to a 14 year old girl, and then sexually assaulting her. SOOOOOOO not right. So in other words, we let this man back out on the streets. Until this state has a zero tolerance policy with these crimes or other crimes of abuse, we have solved and protected no one.
They used the fancy legal language to describe it. Getting a child drunk so he can molest her is what he did. It’s a bad plea deal. The minumum they should have offered would be a felony with some state prison time. All they had to do was say the girl is willing to testify, if need be. His lawyer would have talked him into taking the deal before it ever got to trial. I would bet money on it. Putting those 7 other charges in the hands of a jury would be too much of a risk.
At least we all know he learned his lesson! ;)
“Rockland man gets 90 days in liquor” Sounds more like a Bangor man.
Why couldn’t the victim have provided testimony via video? It is absolutely unconscionable that this perpetrator gets off with 90 days! What kind of message does that send other sexual offenders? How does this constitute justice for the young woman who must live with the memory of his heinous actions?!
We lock up people for years for growing, possessing or selling a natural plant (some of them who are using it to relieve physical suffering) but we give some sick, perv, pedophile who liquors up 14 year old girls 90 days in jail. We live in a screwed up country with a screwed up legal system!
I agree that 90 days is not nearly long enough…..more like 90 years! BUT gunny, that is an ignorant comment to make!
District Attorney Geoffrey RushlauUnder Investigation for Misconduct, Criminal Acts
http://rushlau.blogspot.com/
It will be interesting to find out where that all lands. My fear is that it will be swept under the rug. It’s discouraging to think that the people who supposedly fight for justice have lost their way – especially so when it seems to be so widespread. Can we put “truth,” “justice,” and “the American way” all in the same sentence anymore? Or is that just for Superman re-runs?
I hope it’s true what they say about what happens to child molesters in jail. Enjoy your 90 days, may they feel like a life time D…. bag.
Sorry to tell you it isnt true…..you even look at one of “those” sideways and off to the supermax with you and threatened with picking up a HATE CRIME for your trouble . And people doing time in county lock up just want to get out and NOT pick up another case so the MOST that might happen to a child molester in county is some punk kid will run his mouth to him and that will be it…….I would say take “them” all out back and shoot them but they aint worth the price of a bullet
See now you’ve just proved that they’re not worthless, because they are worth the cost of that bullet.
You would go broke buying ammo in this state ! I say turn them over to the kids family and let the family do whatever they wanted to do to him short of killing them (fast) and the families deal with these kind of sentences……bet ya sex offenses would drop to an all time low.
It’s highly exaggerated. I know some people believe that “righteous” convicts are administering justice for us. I think you’re more likely to get attacked over a candy bar or because somebody thinks it was their turn to read the morning newspaper.
The victim has a lifetime sentence and this creepy old man only 90 days ?!?
90 days…that’s just wrong.
This is why SICK CHILD MOLESTERS LOVE IT IN MAINE –THEY JUST SLAP THERE HANDS AND SEND THEM ON THERE WAY !! PUT THEM ALL ON AN ISLAND AND LET THEM PLAY WITH EACH OTHER –SICKOS !!!!!!!!!!!
In larger cities and other areas of the country where there are large criminal caseloads for the district attorneys, this charge gets dismissed without prosecution. Be thankful he at least gets put on probation and the crime goes on his record.
I think it’s necessary to begin public protests about these non-sentences.
No wonder Maine is a magnet for sex offenders
Especially disgusting as Bernardo is a habitual offender. He’s learned that he can do as pleases with little consequence. Previous appearances in the BDN.
Prior conviction.
http://bangor-launch.newspackstaging.com/2012/01/05/news/midcoast/rockland-district-court-cases-oct-15-dec-27-2011/
Edward A. Bernardo, 53, Rockland, disorderly conduct, unconditional discharge; violating condition of release, jail 30 days.
His indictment regarding the 14 year old.
http://bangor-launch.newspackstaging.com/2011/07/18/news/court/drug-crimes-dominate-knox-county-grand-jury-indictments-in-july/
Edward Bernardo, 53, Rockland, two counts of gross sexual assault,
sexual abuse of a minor, two counts of unlawful sexual contact, two
counts of unlawful sexual touching, furnishing liquor to a minor,
unlawful furnishing of scheduled drugs.
Prior conviction.
http://bangor-launch.newspackstaging.com/2011/08/15/news/court/rockland-district-court-cases-april-1-29-2011/
Edward A. Bernardo, 53, Cushing, harassment by telephone, jail 24 hours; violating condition of release, jail 24 hours.
More indictments.
http://bangor-launch.newspackstaging.com/2009/06/27/news/rockland-man-faces-charges-of-drug-trafficking/
Edward Bernardo, 51, Cushing, unlawfully furnishing schedule W drug (cocaine), violation of conditions of release.
And why isn’t he listed as a sex offender?
The charges get plead down to lessor charges. The gross sexual assault charges would have landed him on the registry, but they dropped those in the plea bargain.
Justice Jeffrey Hjelm and the DA are putting the children in the area at risk. As a result of their mollycoddling, Bernardo is not on the sex offender list. Hopeful somebody can get a picture of this pervert. Make posters, put it up on Facebook, something to alert the townsfolk about the monster in their midst.
WHAT A CROCK. good thing he didn’t do something really bad. like sell another adult a little pot. they’d have thrown the book at him.
I hate baby rapers but I have to say if this was a women and a 14 year old boy some of you would be cracking jokes. I think he should be strung up, castrated then executed by fire ants eating him alive in a lye bath. 90 days is laughable at best. Shame on the judge, DA and all involved.
I know the jokes you refer too.
However, I don’t think they would be made in this case.
14 year old boy, boozed into unconsciousness, molested by a 53 year old woman? Yuck.
10 years for child porn but 90 days for raping a child.
Now there’s a deterrent. NOT!
If the victim would be further traumatized by having to testify in court, why not tape a deposition and play that for the court? Correct me if I’m wrong, but I thought that was routine in cases of child sex abuse. The fact she wouldn’t appear in court because of her age and vulnerability must be irrelevant, though, because even without her firsthand testimony, there is apparently enough evidence to convict. This DA and judge need to be held accountable for their miserable “deals” with pigs like this.
Put this Dawg DOWN, yesterday. Where’s his pic I’d gladly do a dirty deed