Does Dasen penalty fit the crimes?

Two years.

That's the sentence Kalispell businessman Dick Dasen Sr. received for sex crimes Monday, and there was widespread shock and disbelief that five felonies and a misdemeanor could result in such a light sentence.

District Judge Stewart Stadler actually sentenced Dasen to a total of 20 years in prison, but with 18 suspended. Thus, Dasen must serve two years, minus the 120 days he's spent in the county jail, before he can be paroled.

Outside of the courthouse, there was an immediate and vocal objection: It's not long enough.

Maybe not.

But if you examine the legal background of the sentencing - four of the five felony crimes that he committed are virtually unheard of - it was uncharted territory for the judge to decide Dasen's penalty.

Since the state statute was rewritten in 2001, for instance, no one in Montana has been convicted of felony prostitution. So when Judge Stewart Stadler looked to other sentences to fashion his own to be consistent, he had nothing to go on. Likewise, no one has been charged with promotion of prostitution as Dasen was.

The only conviction that comes close to Dasen's was borne of the investigation into his activities, but it is also a difficult comparison to make.

Kimberly Neise was convicted of aggravated promotion of prostitution for finding girls for Dasen to have sex with. She pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 10 years with five suspended. She spent no time in the women's prison but successfully completed drug treatment and a prerelease program and so, one could argue, her sentence for a single felony was both longer, but more easily served.

For the other felony charge on which Dasen was convicted- sexual abuse of children - there have been 24 cases statewide in the last five years, according to parole and probation officer Dave Castro. Of them, 14 received at least partial prison sentences. Those who have gone to prison were those who actually photographed children engaged in sexual activity or poses, as Dasen did.

All that Stadler could rely on is that no sentence he imposed on Dasen would make everyone happy.

Some Dasen defenders believe his offenses were moral lapses more than crimes. Dasen has admitted having affairs with more women than he could remember.

Another segment of society believes the millions of dollars Dasen traded for sexual favors fueled a perpetual engine of methamphetamine addiction in the valley, and that he used his position of power to take advantage of women in need. Many of the women who said Dasen paid them for sex reportedly spent most of the money on drugs.

Before his arrest, Dasen was regarded as a generous civic leader. There is no dispute that when people approached him or when social service agencies called him, Dasen could be counted on to write a check for those in need.

That was to his favor and to his detriment when he was sentenced. Dasen's attorney argued that his good deeds should be considered. Others said that abusing his position and trust in the community made his crimes more heinous.

Dasen came to sentencing with no prior criminal record. None of the crimes he was convicted of was inherently violent, as that term is used in the legal system. And, as one observer pointed out, it was an unusual case in that all of his victims profited from the crime, some by more than $100,000.

Which isn't to say he didn't do them enormous damage.

It would have been nice to hear an apology from Dasen for violating the community's trust, for hurting his family and friends, for exploiting the hard-scrabble lives of women with little. He missed that opportunity when he didn't testify at his sentencing hearing Monday.

He will have 20 months in the Montana State Prison to think about what he has done. Maybe an apology will come after that.