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Show Five North Star Defendants Are Sentenced At Friday1 s Hearing PANGUITCH Closure came this past week for most of the defendants in the two and one-half-year North Star case when two owners and four employees of the Escalante-based wilderness program for troubled teens were sentenced on Friday in the most emotional hearing in Garfield County history. Eer since 16-year-old Aaron Bacon di 1 in March 1994 while enrolled at North Star and the state of Utah filed third degree felony charges against North Star's two owners and seven counselors, the lives of the dead youth's parents and family and those of North Star owners and counselors and their families have been in limbo. The five had entered guilty pleas on Sept. 26 to reduced class A misdemeanor charges and were in court Friday for sentencing. After hearing remarks from the victim's parents and family members and the defense attorneys and their clients at the four and one-half-hour hearing, Sixth District Judge K.L. Mclff sentenced all five North Star defendants to extensive community service hours, with fines and fees. The state's prosecutors and Bob and Sally Bacon, parents of the dead youth, asked Sixth District Court Judge K.L. Mclff for maximum sentences for the North Star defendants while defense attorneys pleaded for mercy for their clients who they perceived as people unjustly charged with a crime unsupported by evidence, facts or testimony. The defendants also spoke in their own behalf as tears flowed freely in the courtroom. Defense attorneys, the Bacons, their family members, and others in the courtroom who came to add their support could see the trend as Judge K.L. Mclff spoke to the court about his reasons for making his decision on the sentences he was about to pronounce. Defense attorneys Craig Barlow and Rob Parrish hung their heads and audible gasps could be heard from the Bacon family as Mclff said that jail and lockup are not the only answers in come cases.. Young Bacon died of peritonitis, caused by perforated ulcers. The state of Utah filed charges in October 1994 charging two owners and seven employees of North Star with abuse and neglect of a disabled child, a third degree felony, punishable by up to five years in prison, andor fines and fees. Eight were subsequently bound over for trial in June 1995. One employee entered a plea to a reduced charge, leaving seven to face trial on Oct. 28. Judge Mclff changed the venue of the trial from Panguitch to Richfield on Sept. 13 and just 13 days later at a pre-trial hearing with the trial only a month away, North Star owners Lance Jaggar and Bill Henry and employee Georgette Costigan, all of whom live in Escalante, entered guilty pleas to reduced class A miademeanor charges. Disposition of charges against North Star employee Eric have never been made clear, but an agreement appeared to be in the works. Consequently, only three young North Star staff members were left to stand trial on Oct. 28. At the pre-trial hearing in Richfield on Oct. 10, employees Jeff Hohenstein and Sonny Duncan entered pleas to a class A misdemeanor, but employee Craig Fisher elected to stand, trial. That trial began Monday, Oct. 28 and went to the jury at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday. "Human rights are not negotiable," Aaron's grandfather said in a statement to the court read by Aaron's girlfriend Carrie Colburn. She continued with the thoughts of James Wright, "They are the law of our land. We ask the court for the strictest punishment allowed under the law . . . anything less would be a travesty of justice." (See North Star Defendants On Page 3A) Five Sentenced In North Star Case From Page One Her reading echoed what other Bacon family members were saying: only the maximum sentence could satisfy justice. Aaron Bacon's sister told Judge Mclff, "You know, never in my wildest dreams have I thought five months after graduating from law school I'd be standing before a judge, not as an attorney who professes for a client, but as a sister seeking justice for my dead brother. "My brother died at the hands of people in the business of making a profit off of parents who, in an active concern as loviqg parents, were persuaded to send their child to beautiful southern Utah for wilderness therapy. Aaron's mother, Sally Bacon, said,"North Star acted as a team in Aaron's death and each defendant participated in his death. . . . Aaron's pleas went unanswered. They were heard, loud and clear and they weren't ignored but rather laughed at and he was punished for being weak. And the consequences of Aaron's actions? Aaron received the death penalty. "I am heartbroken and I am outraged that my son's death, at the hands of these defendants has been minimized to a misdemeanor. Bob Bacon, Aaron's father, said, "Upon learning what actually happened at North Star, it became clear to me that the rhetoric in the brochure and the Jaggar's personal assurances were nothing more than hollow marketing and sales claims that were completely and shamelessly unable to produce. "There were no counselors, there were no role models, no building of self esteem and they certrainly did not restore the failure the failures distilled." Attorney Jeff Gleave speaking in behalf of Lance Jaggar said that his client had not previously been able to apologize to the Bacons because defense attorneys traditionally do not allow their clients to speak until cases are concluded. "Blame the attorneys, please." he said. "Lance Jaggar does squarely accept the responsibilities for the death of Aaron Bacon. He shouldered that and he will not shift responsibility." Jaggar himself said to the Bacons, "I have children of my own and I can only imagine your pain ... I, I'm sorry, I truly am. You entrusted Aaron in our care and I failed you." Defense attorney James Bradshaw said about Henry: "We have all grown very close during this period of time. We've not only grown to appreciate each other, but also the program itself. It's really not something you can appreciate by someone explaining it to you. But to actually be around North Star, to be around North Star kids, people who have come back, people who have been in the program and come back. "We've got a father in the courtroom from California who has driven from California to be here for these people. Because his daughter's life was literally saved in this program. We could fill thisi courtroom with these kind of people. "... when you are around this group and you see parents who come and sob because their children have literally been saved by this program, it's really something impressive. And when you see all the hugs and all of the love that is rampant within this group, and all the people it has affected, it really ' has an emotional affect on you. "I think as jaded criminal defense lawyers we he paused These are very decent men who care very, very much. This was an accident. . . . When the call about Aaron came into the North Star office, it was 15 minutes until an ambulance arrived on the scene, it was 37 minutes until a helicopter was on the scene and 42 minutes until the helicopter was in the air. "They are caring men; they are not callous and they are not greedy. Bradshaw said that the case had been "terribly polarizing" and that the Bacons had spoken eloquently about the need for an apology, "and it has been long in coming." He said that some of the responsibility for that delay has to be attributed to the state. "When the case was filed," he said, it was filed with a nine-page probable cause statement that was full of lies and false statements" not only about these two Jaggar and Henry but about all of these North Star people." He said, "that in turn led to an L.A. Times article, Dateline NBC and the Leeza show and Outside magazine, all perpetuating these lies about who these people were and what they were doing. "Rather than bring in their case and say 'we don't talk' there was thisl huge public outcry, this huge dissemination of all these false facts." Bradshaw said. Speaking in his own behalf, Bill Henry followed. Mr. and Mrs. Bacon Bob and Sally for two and one-half years we have lived with the same thing you have lived with by no means the same feelings but with the same remorse "It's been our business to help kids. Aaron died on my watch, he died when I should have been taking care of him. I should have been watching over him. For that I take responsibility. I deeply apologize." apolo-gize." Defense attorney Ed Brass representing Georgette Costigan, said his client was portrayed to the press as "one of those framed black and white photographs of a concentration camp guard that you saw after WWII. That's the way she was portrayed to the press and that is the way that she has been vilified in this courtroom today." Brass said that he, never having met Costigan, had been prepared to meet the kind of person described in the media but, "inside of 15 minutes" he found she didn't remotely resemble the type of person he was expecting to meet. He said that as an Emergency Medical Technician she was not a medical doctor, not even a paramedic and only slightly more fit in giving something besides high school football physicals, providing only basic medical care. Brass said Costigan had seen young Bacon the day before his death "on the spur of the moment" and had not been given any background information on him. "She made a call," he said, "and the call, in hindsight, was the wrong call." He said that when he first met Costigan seven months ago, she wept uncontrollably. "There are people here in this room," he said, "that need to understand that it's the nature of the system that we prevent healing from taking place as long as the matter is being contested in an adversarial procedure. He said that Costigan said the day that he met her, "I made a bad call and I'm going to have to live with that the rest of my life." Costigan was crying in the background when she was asked to speak for herself. After several minutes of silence she said, "Losing Aaron was like losing one of my own. Those kids were treated like I treat my own children and I loved him with all my heart." She said that when she saw Aaron the night before he died, she did not feel that he was "any more ill than having a bad case of the flu. "We all feel much remorse and sadness, she said. Brass, in closing, said that Costigan had received numerous letters from former North Star students commending her for the kind treatment she showed them while they were enrolled in the program. He said she had never mentioned the letters and had never talked about herself, only her remorse over Aaron's death. It is the judgment of the court Lance Jaggar, William Henry, Georgette Costigan, Grinell Sonny Duncan and Jeff Hohenstein, that each of'you be and you are hereby sentenced to one year in the Garfield County jail and fined the sum of $2,500 for the commission of the offense of negligent homicide. It is a further order of the court that Mr. Lance Jaggar and William Henry are fined the sum of $1,000 for the licensing violation for which they entered the plea of guilty. I suspend the execution and place each of you on probation for a period of 36 months subject to the terms which I shall now outline. I shall outline the terms first for Mr. Henry and Mr. Jaggar. Your probation is to be supervised by the Department of Adult Probation. You'll sign a probation agreement which contains all the customary terms including your responsibility to not violate any law in the jurisdiction in which you live: local, state, federal. Each of you Mr. Henry and Mr. Jaggar shall be obligated to reimburse Garfield County the sum of $3,600 as as partial defense costs in your case. You shall be obliged to pay that at not less than $100 per month. Each of you are obliged to complete 1,440 hours of community service. That's 40 hours per week, for 36 weeks or some nine months. The service you render is to be bonafide public service, it is to benefit people of the areas in which you live. It is to be approved and monitored by your probation officer and by the office of the Garfield County Attorney. You are to file monthly reports with your probation officer and the county attorney and a copy for the court. I want to know the precise public service that you're rendering. During the course of your probation, you'll be restrained from being employed for compensation as a counselor, owner consultant or in other capacity with any youth program similar in nature or purpose to the North Star Wilderness Wilder-ness program. Any participation by you as a volunteer in any program for troubled youths will require advance approval from your probation officer and from the Garfield county Attorney. All of those same conditions shall apply to you Mrs. Costigan, and to you Mr. Duncan and to you Mr. Hohenstein. Though I make this adjustment with respect to your hours of service and your obligation to the county. Mr. Duncan and Mr. Hohenstein who had direct contact with Aaron and who admitted here today the tremendous guilt which you feel about it. For the pain which was inflicted upon others. Each of you shall be obliged to 720 hours of community service. Each of you shall be obliged to reimburse Garfield County $1,800. You are obliged to begin that and pay not less than $50 a month till that is satisfied. I find Mrs. Costigan's culpability less. I think everyone has recognized that. That too is a paradox because, while it is less, it was kind of the last chance and I am sure, Mrs. Costigan, it will be a long time in your life before you forget the tragic failure just to do some simple things that could have been binding on that. You are required to reimburse Garfield County the sum of $1,200 to help with your defense counsel. I recognize that the community service ordered is extensive. Particularly in the case of Mr. Jaggar and Mr. Henry. None months, 37 weeks, is a long time. It's full-time employment, I recognize, to some extent that may create a hardship on your family. If at any time you consider jail preferable, which I seriously doubt would be the case, I will allow any defendant 8 hours credit for every 24 hours he serves in jail. But, you'll have to pay the costs of your jail service. I'm not going to allow you to go to jail and watch TV or read the newspapers, or whatever. If you opt at any time to serve any time in lieu of the plea, the work that I've required. You will be obliged to deposit money in advance. If you want to spend 10 days it will cost you $300. Now, I'm sure that doesn't sound attractive, you might even consider it, some, as insurance. But frankly, I don't want you in jail. I want you rendering meaningful public service. It's extensive service. I want you to help defray some of the tremendous costs that have occurred as a result of this case. I'm going to ask the clerk to put the matter on the calendar for the 35th month from now and I'll see where we are in terms of our reimbursement obligation and in terms of your community service. I'll expect you to do it. I'll insist that you do it. If it is not done, at that time, I will consider either extending your probation or incarceration incar-ceration on which I specifically reserve jurisdiction to impose additional conditions if anyone fails to comply with the order of judgment that I intended at this time. I will allow you, Mr. Hohenstein, for your probation, to be supervised in the state of Minnesota. Mr. Duncan, I'll allow yours to be supervised in the state of Arizona. I'll expect each one of you to notify the county attorneys office within 10 days of any change of address or relocation. I do not want a light community service. I want it to be real and substantial. Any question about that anyone has? Barlow: Your Honor, were there community service hours for Mrs. Costigan? Brass: I think he said the same as Mr. Hohenstein and Mr. Duncan. Lee Is that restitution also (Costigan) to be paid at $50 per month? Judge: Yes. I'll allow each one of them to pay the restitution of obligation over the 36 months divided by the number of months. You have to know that those obligations do not rise very high on the measurement of what has been expended in this case. It rose out of awareness that each of you has been obliged to find new ways to earn a living. I'm aware you're circumstances have not been plush. I'm sure they're necessitous. By the time you reder the community service required, it may well significantly impact our ability to earn money the next three years. That's the order, thank you. |