Posted on 12/16/2004 11:21:56 AM PST by Smogger
POMONA - A former visiting Claremont McKenna psychology professor was sentenced to a year in state prison on Wednesday for falsely reporting that her car was damaged in a campus hate crime.
A father's plea for mercy and a river of tears didn't win any leniency for Kerri Francis Dunn, who launched the community into tumult in March when she claimed her Honda was sprayed with racial and anti-Semitic slurs while she spoke at an anti-hate forum. Police later concluded she vandalized the car herself.
"What she did was at least temporarily terrorize the minority students on campus and make suspects out of the rest," Judge Charles Horan said when handing down the sentence in Pomona Superior Court.
Horan also ordered the 40-year-old Redlands woman to pay more than $19,000 in damages to Claremont McKenna College.
Dunn, who has spent the past three months in state prison undergoing psychological testing, asked the judge on Wednesday to free her from custody and place her on probation.
She wiped away tears as her father, a retired police officer from New Jersey, pleaded on her behalf.
William Dunn told the judge his daughter was caring and generous and needed to be with her family through the holidays.
"I beg your honor to have mercy on our daughter," the 78- year-old father said. "We love her very dearly and have watched her suffer a great deal."
Horan said he felt for Dunn's family, but insisted it was time she paid for her actions. He encouraged her to seek treatment for her mental illnesses while in prison.
"Something is going on with her such that she hasn't been able to get a grip on herself," he said.
As a bailiff led her from the courtroom, Dunn, dressed in a blue-and-yellow jail-issue jumpsuit, turned to her family, placed her hand over her heart and flashed a peace sign.
"It's going to be OK," she told her parents and sister, who also cried throughout the hearing. "Thank you for coming."
Dunn's Honda was sprayed with slurs about blacks and Jews on March 9 and her tires were slashed. The suspected hate crime sparked widespread outrage and prompted the Claremont Colleges to cancel classes for a day of anti-hate rallies.
The incident was later exposed as a fraud when two witnesses stepped forward claiming they saw Dunn vandalize the car.
This came after other race-related incidents at the Claremont Colleges, including a cross-burning by drunken students and a slur written near a photo of George Washington Carver.
Prosecutors argued at trial that Dunn staged the vandalism of her car to call attention to the hate speech.
A jury convicted her in August of filing a false police report and of two counts of attempted insurance fraud.
She faced up to three years in state prison.
Three months ago, Horan sent Dunn to state prison for 90 days of psychological evaluation to help him decide on a sentence.
He said a report from the prison indicated that Dunn remains utterly unrepentant and still insists she is a victim. He said he believed the evidence to the contrary is overwhelming.
"I have literally laid awake nights wondering about the tack she's taken," the judge said.
Dunn's attorney, Gary Lincenberg, said after Wednesday's hearing that the woman will appeal.
He said Dunn was in a no-win situation during the 90-day evaluation: Admitting guilt and expressing remorse could jeopardize her appeals, while continued denials would earn her the wrath of the judge.
"She still maintains her innocence, and we understand that had an effect on her sentence," Lincenberg said.
Deputy District Attorney Martin Bean said he thought the sentence was fair.
"I hope she gets help in prison," Bean said.
Pamela Gann, president of Claremont McKenna College, sent a letter to the judge calling Dunn's actions a "depraved, public act," and asking for $19,418 to cover a portion of the campus' financial losses.
The university hired professors to replace Dunn after she was placed on leave, paid for increased security and even rented a car for Dunn.
Gann wrote that it is impossible for the university to calculate other costs, such as damage to the school's reputation and the expenses of cancelling a full day of classes for all students.
Horan said he was sympathetic to the university.
"There's an argument to be made that every kid over there who got booted out of class has a claim," the judge said.
Dunn has credit for 134 days in custody. She will likely serve about half of her sentence before she is eligible for parole.
Rod Leveque can be reached by e-mail r_leveque@dailybulletin.com or by phone at (909) 483-9325.
HahahahahahahHahaHahahahahahaha!
"WOW - a judge actually held a liberal professor accountable for her actions?! What in the wild, wild, world o' sports is a-goin' on here?"
There actually are some good judges out there--ones who apply the law as the elected reps enacted it, ones who are tough on crime no matter the criminal's race, gender, economic status, politics, etc., and ones who don't suffer fools and their pleas for mercy. They just don't get much attention--they aren't held up as heroes by the press or touted for their "judicial independence" or "bravery."
correction was a teacher... I don't think many schools will touch her after this.
I LOVE stories with happy endings!
Send her to Al Sharpton to learn the techniques of false accusations.
Why wasn't she charged with a hate crime herself? And why only one year?
I wouldn't be surprised if she got a full professorship and an endowed chair at an elite university after her release.
I hope not, but you may be right.
And this teacher is a lady?
So, when do the anti-bogus-hate-crime rallies start?
"It was the strawberries..."
Pamela Gann, president of Claremont McKenna College, sent a letter to the judge calling Dunn's actions a "depraved, public act," and asking for $19,418 to cover a portion of the campus' financial losses.Being Devil's Advocate here, but just how is that laid at Dunn's door? She wasn't the one who cancelled the classesThe university hired professors to replace Dunn after she was placed on leave, paid for increased security and even rented a car for Dunn.
Gann wrote that it is impossible for the university to calculate other costs, such as damage to the school's reputation and the expenses of cancelling a full day of classes for all students.
In light of these events, I have also directed that CMC cancel classes today, and the other Claremont Colleges have also cancelled classes. One never lightly cancels classes, for to do so in some way suggests that we can be bullied by the perpetrators of such a heinous crime. Yet, we need every single person in this community to come together, to follow his or her conscience, and to start a process of regaining control of our community. In this way, we can hope to tell the perpetrators that they will in the end be defeated and repudiated. From: President Pamela Gann
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.