Rapist's sentenceaffirmedby court

A Coram man who was granted two new sentencings by the Montana Supreme Court for sexually assaulting his daughter will have to live with the third sentence, which increased the time he will spend in prison.

The high court on Thursday denied William Rardon's third appeal of his sentence for sexual assault.

A five-member panel of the court found that District Judge Kim Christopher's sentence of 50 years with 13 suspended is fair and Flathead County

prosecutors did nothing to violate Rardon's rights.

Christopher, of Lake County, sentenced Rardon after two Kalispell judges' sentences were overturned. She made him ineligible for parole for 37 years.

He will be 81 years old by then.

Rardon had appealed the third sentence, claiming that prosecutors breached a plea agreement, County Attorney Ed Corrigan violated the Supreme Court's earlier rulings, and the sentence violated Rardon's right to due process.

The Supreme Court found no basis for any of those allegations.

At each of Rardon's sentencings, his daughter, Debra Nelson, testified about the abuse he inflicted on her. She recounted how her father started fondling her when she was 6 and forced intercourse on her by the time she was 11, impregnating her when she was 14.

She confided in her sister who testified that Rardon molested her, too.

On Christmas when she was 15, Nelson gave birth to a severely deformed 4-pound girl who lived for only hours. Her father's sexual abuse resumed days later.

Normally, the identities of sexual abuse victims are protected, but Nelson has voluntarily given up her anonymity, saying she did nothing wrong and has nothing to hide.

Rardon was charged in March 1997 with sexual intercourse without consent and two counts of sexual assault. He eventually entered into a plea agreement with prosecutors. The deal was that he would plead guilty to sexual assault and prosecutors would dismiss the other charges, recommending a sentence in line with whatever a sex-offender evaluation found and in line with a presentence report.

The sex-offender evaluator recommended treatment with no prison time. The author of a presentence report from the probation and parole office recommended 40 years with half suspended.

At sentencing, Corrigan recommended 70 years with no parole for at least 30 years.

In 1997, District Judge Ted Lympus sentenced Rardon to 75 years, suspended 15 and made him ineligible for parole for 35 years.

Rardon appealed and the Supreme Court agreed with him that Corrigan breached the plea agreement. It ordered a new sentencing before a new judge.

District Judge Kitty Curtis did that in 2000. Then, Corrigan recommended a sentence of 40 years with half suspended, in accordance with the plea agreement. Rardon's attorney recommended an even harsher sentence of 40 years with no time suspended.

Judges are not bound by plea agreements and Curtis sentenced Rardon to 75 years with 25 suspended and made him ineligible for parole for at least 12 years.

Again Rardon appealed and again the Supreme Court supported him.

This time, the court ruled, Corrigan made the agreed recommendation, but elicited testimony from Rardon's wife and daughters that was so damning it was almost guaranteed to undermine the plea agreement and cause a more severe sentence.

The Supreme Court ordered another sentencing before yet another judge and told Corrigan to remove himself from the case.

Christopher issued her sentence in June 2003. She extended the sentencing date so Rardon's daughter could testify. Nelson first decided she didn't want to repeat an ordeal she had been through twice already.

Eventually, she testified before Christopher and asked her to finally put an end to the matter.

"I hope, judge, you just take care of things for me," Nelson told Christopher. She told her heart-wrenching story as she had twice before.

"Hopefully, this will be the last time," Nelson said.

At the hearing, prosecutor Dan Guzynski abided by the agreement, recommending a sentence of 40 years with 20 suspended. Rardon's attorney, Sean Hinchey, asked for 30 with 15 suspended.

Christopher exceeded both recommendations.

Rardon appealed again, but the Supreme Court didn't bite this time.

The justices found there was nothing improper about his victim's testimony, prosecutors abided by the plea deal, and there was nothing else that merited a new sentence.

"It's finally over for these victims," Guzynski said Friday . "They were children when they [first] testified. Now, they're women.

"I'm extremely pleased the family will have some closure."

Reporter Chery Sabol may be reached at 758-4441 or by e-mail at csabol@dailyinterlake.com