David A. Shultz and Dean M. Trout could have been sentenced to prison for a combined 270 years for sexually abusing children in Carroll County.
But together they got three years after reaching plea agreements with the state ? 30 months for Shultz and six months for Trout.
The disparity highlights the swirl of considerations that accompany cases built on the testimonies of young victims and often involving family members, court officials said.
“It would be nice to operate in a vacuum,” Carroll Circuit Judge Michael Galloway said on Wednesday at Shultz?s sentencing hearing.
But outside factors, such as the financial and emotional welfare of both the victims? and defendants? families, convinced him to suspend all but 30 months of Shultz?s 45-year sentence, he said.
“Perhaps my hands have been tied a little bit,” he said later, referring to terms of the agreement brokered by the state?s attorneys and Shultz?s lawyer.
State?s attorneys said that in cases such as these, leniency is among the few tools available for conviction.
“If the state were to really push the most serious of the counts, then there?s no incentive for the defendants to plea,” said Amy Ocampo, Carroll County assistant state?s attorney who handled Trout?s case.
Jury trials can be traumatic for the victims and their family, risky ? depending on the child?s ability to testify and the state?s case ? and lengthy, she said.
“We have to take into account what?s best for everybody,” Ocampo said.
Shultz?s case involved three youths in their early teens, one of whom he sexually abused repeatedly. Shultz, 51, of Taneytown, was arrested in 2005 and faced nine charges, including sexual abuse, sexual assault and rape, according to court records. He pleaded guilty to charges of sexually abusing a minor and displaying obscene matter.
Trout?s case would have heard the testimony of a 7-year-old girl whom he sexually abused in a bathtub, according to court documents. Trout, 52, of Keymar, faced multiple charges of sexual abuse and sexual assault. He pleaded no contest to charges of sexual abuse of a minor and assault with intent to have carnal knowledge with a female.
“I don?t think it?s a fair trade-off,” Brian Walker, a spokesman for the Carroll County chapter of Bikers Against Child Abuse Inc., said of Shultz?s plea agreement.
“But it?s up to the judicial system.”
