A recently resigned CEO from Columbia faces a reduced sentence of up to one year in prison after admitting to molesting a 14-year-old girl on numerous occasions, the Howard County State?s Attorney?s Office said.
Howard County Circuit Judge Diane Leasure will sentence Steven Chamberlain, the former CEO of Lanham-based high-tech company Integral Systems, on Thursday.
If Chamberlain gets the maximum sentence for the misdemeanor charge of fourth-degree sexual offense, he will be eligible for parole in four months.
Chamberlain originally was indicted by a grand jury Jan. 25 on charges of sex abuse of a minor and third-degree sex offense. The charges have maximum terms of 15 years and 10 years in prison, respectively.
The plea agreement was probably made to prevent the victim from having to testify, according to the State?s Attorney?s Office.
“When a court case would require the testimony of a young person who has been sexually abused, and would be subject to cross-examination, that young person might be nervous about testifying,” said Wayne Kirwan, a spokesman for the state?s attorney?s office.
The victim reported that Chamberlain repeatedly molested her and asked her to have sex with him at his home over a seven-month period between Nov. 1, 2003, and May 31, 2004. She said he asked her not to tell anyone, and gave her large sums of money and expensive presents, including a kimono from a trip overseas.
Chamberlain pleaded guilty April 26, five days after resigning from his CEO position.
“It?s very frustrating to see the court system respond in a completely inadequate way to a 14-year-old girl who was molested against her will,” said Lisae Jordan, legal director at the Maryland Coalition Against Sexual Assault.
Chamberlain?s attorney, Price Gielen, did not immediately return phone calls.
Sentencing information
Howard County Circuit Court Judge Diane Leasure will sentence Steven Chamberlain at 9 a.m. Thursday in the Howard County Circuit Courthouse on Court Avenue in Ellicott City.
