Ruttlander wrote:Coydog wrote:The delay in sentencing might actually work against Torrey – there have been several unrelated horrific events regarding child abuse in Vermont recently and this could conceivably impact his sentence.
Disagree. Believe the exact opposite. In the additional time that has Torrey's defense has been allotted, Judge Murtha has sentenced others for similar charges and has continued to deviate from the Sentencing Guidelines.
USA v. Cota
At yesterday's sentencing hearing, the United States recommended that Cota be sentenced in accordance with the advisory Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which provided for a prison sentence between 121 and 151 months. The United States argued that such a sentence was warranted by, among other things, the serious nature of the offense, the number and nature of the images possessed, Cota's prior criminal record, his violations of the conditions of release, including his downloading of additional child pornography, and the results of a psychosexual evaluation by an expert retained by Cota, which indicated, among other things, that Cota has a deviant sexual interest in grade school-aged girls. The United States further argued that the sentence prescribed by the Guidelines was appropriate to protect the public and send a strong and clear message that individuals who sexually exploit children by possessing and trading in child pornography for their own sexual gratification face significant prison terms.
Judge Murtha declined to follow the Guidelines and instead imposed a non-Guideline sentence of 70 months, finding that such sentence was sufficient but not greater than necessary to comply with the purposes of the federal statute governing sentencing, that the Guidelines overstate the seriousness of the offense, and the lack of treatment in prison until the Defendant's final 18 months in prison. Judge Murtha also cited, among other things, the absence of evidence that Cota distributed child pornography or acted inappropriately with minors, Cota's record of compliance during the period of supervised released following his imprisonment on an earlier federal drug conviction, his employment history, his family circumstances, and the opinion by Cota's psychosexual evaluator that Cota presented a low risk of recidivism.
is that my man EC?? Eddie Cota??
COTA KICKS UP HIS HEELS EX-TILDEN STAR SPURNS STORM
By ANTHONY McCARRON
Tuesday, October 31th 1995, 4:11AM
After announcing yesterday that he would play college basketball at the University of North Carolina, former Tilden star Eddie Cota looked around, smiled at members of his family, friends, coaches and ex-teammates and talked about the greatest feeling he's ever known.
"This is the biggest experience of my life," said Cota, a 6-1 point guard, at his press conference at the Entourage Sports Cafe in Manhattan. "I'm so happy. I made a great decision. I don't think it could get any better than this."
Perhaps the only better feeling will come when Cota first dons Carolina blue and steps onto the Tar Heels' home floor. After all, it's something he's always imagined.
"Carolina's been my dream," said Cota, who is now at St. Thomas More, a prep school in Oakdale, Conn. "I went with my dream."
In the process, Cota, 19, made UNC coach Dean Smith very happy Cota was the only point guard that Smith went after this year, recruiting guru Tom Konchalski said.
"Point guard being a critical position for them, enough said," Konchalski said. "Eddie is one of the best in the country. He has a tremendous amount of deception in his game. He's deceptively strong. Anytime there is a loose ball, he's like a magnet. And because he's so strong, he's a great finisher."
Cota averaged 20 points and nine assists last year in leading St. Thomas More to a 27-2 record. Cota was a Daily News All-City selection in 1993-94, his final year at Tilden.
The Tar Heels beat out St. John's, Florida State and Manhattan. After Cota whittled his list down to UNC and SJU, the real decision-making process began. "I could see a lot of reasons to go to St. John's," he said. "I'd be here with my friends and family. But I've wanted to move out of New York and I feel I fit their structured system. At St. Thomas More, I got used to living on a campus that's more who I am now."
Cota credits his prep-school experiences with helping him mature from wild younger days on Brooklyn's streets. "I was always a nice guy, you know, but I wasn't focused. I needed someone to put me in the right direction."
After his parents were injured in a 1990 car accident that left his father paralyzed from the chest down, Cota's grades at Tilden sagged and he began to skip school. But he has since become an honors student and he scored a 980 on the SAT, making him eligible for freshman participation at UNC.
"When he first came, he was a great basketball player, but we were concerned about him academically," More coach Jere Quinn said. "Now I know him as a student who can play basketball."
"Was he a choirboy before he left?" said Tilden coach Rock Eisenberg. "No. But he had enough character to come back. He's the best player and one of the best persons I've ever coached."
Cota could be joined at North Carolina by another city star Holy Cross' Willie Dersch, who is choosing among UNC, Virginia and Duke and will decide Thursday.
