A life sentence. That is what victims of sexual abuse get, District Attorney Kevin Finnell said in County Court on Wednesday morning, a sentiment Judge Donald O'Geen agreed with before sending John Volpe to prison for what is likely the rest of his life.
The 71-year-old Alexander resident, who entered court and left court with the assistance of a walker, was sentenced, in accordance with his plea agreement, to 10 years to life in state prison.
His victim, now a young woman, will deal with the consequences of his sexual abuse and manipulation for the rest of her life, O'Geen said.
O'Geen described the young lady as strong and courageous.
"I have high hopes, based on her comments today, that she will live a good life, especially with the people around her to give her the strength to pull through," O'Geen said.
Finnell opened his statement to the court before sentencing by noting that Volpe would spend the rest of his life in prison, but the life sentence goes both ways.
"She will have to deal with this the rest of her life," he said.
He also noted that Volpe's record of good works -- Volpe was an environmental activist -- in the community also couldn't excuse his conduct.
The hearing opened with the victim reading a statement called an allocation, which gives victims an opportunity to tell the court of the true impact of the criminal's crime.
She said Volpe first sexually abused her when she was five years old. Based on his recommendation, she was removed from public school when she was 12. From age 13 to 17, when she finally told somebody about the abuse, she said she was terrified of him.
"I was brainwashed into thinking it was normal," she said. "That the fear and pain was normal. You convinced me that society was wrong and that you were the best for me. My entire life, I thought my role was to serve you any way you saw fit."
She hoped she would escape it when she turned 18, but Volpe told her that would never happen.
She hoped to escape him when she went to college, but again, he said that wouldn't happen.
"I prayed that I would get away from you when I was married," she said. "You told me that when my husband left for work, you would come over and use me any way you wanted. I said I wanted kids, and you tried to convince me I had to touch them. I told you I wanted to be a nurse and you told me I had to pleasure the old men I cared for. My whole life was decided for me when you met me."
She said when she went on vacations, she had to call him multiple times a day. She had to text him when she went to a friend's house. She had to call him from work, from her apartment when she got home. She said he isolated her from friends and family.
"I had no escape or excuse to get away from you. You used me in every possible way you could," she said. "I have been sexually, physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually abused by you. You brainwashed my family and I into thinking the world was going to end. That we had to prepare for the end times. You used native culture as a way to manipulate others. You disgraced a culture for your own personal gain."
Now that she has come forward and Volpe is in custody, she is recovering, she said.
"I no longer have to wear a mask," she said. "I can choose what to do and who to see. I have friends and receive true real love. I learned that I was not damaged but that you were. I am now learning how to live, how to love, and how to laugh again. You took everything from me and I am taking it back. I didn't deserve what I received, but it brings me peace knowing that you will get what you deserve and more, that you will never hurt another child again, that you will never hurt another adult again, that you are going to a place that you are terrified of."
Defense attorney Jamie Walsh revealed that Volpe was also abused as a child and that he has been serving his own life sentence as a result of that sexual abuse. Still, O'Geen rejected that abuse as an excuse for Volpe's conduct.
He called such a concept "selfish," and asserting such a claim was a "slap in the face" to the victim.
"Because you were abused as a child is no excuse because your response should be the opposite of being an abuser," O'Geen said. "You know what it is to be abused."
