Man Gets Life Sentence For Sucking Boys' Toes
SANTA ANA, Calif., 7:37 p.m. PDT July 11, 2003 - A man who sucked the toes of 20 boys faces the rest of his life in prison.
The former Newport Beach youth program supervisor was convicted of 25 counts of lewd conduct and assault and on Friday was sentenced to life in prison, with eligibility for parole in 15 years.
Trenton Michael Veches, 32, would have faced up to 300 years in prison, with eligibility after 45 years, had Orange County Superior Court Judge Richard Toohey ordered that sentences on the counts be served consecutively, instead of concurrently.
Veches' attorney, John Patrick Dolan, argued during trial that his client's actions with the boys, who were between the ages of 6 and 10, were "nothing more than horseplay."
But jurors, who deliberated 1 1/2 days, determined they were sexual in nature.
Outside the courtroom, Veches' mother, Joyce Ormes, defended her son.
"I don't know how he can spend life in prison for this when there was no sexual contact with the genitals, things like that," Ormes said.
"You could slap a little boy on the butt and if somebody sees it and turns you in you could go to jail for life, so, how do you feel that's fair?"
"And he didn't prey on these children like it was made to look like in the court," she said. "And I think the parents did more damage to their kids by making them testify in that courtroom."
But Deputy District Attorney Sheila Hanson said Veches "clearly befriended these children, manipulated them and he sexually molested them."
"He did have physical contact with their toes," Hanson said, "and at least with one victim, other parts of that boy's body.
"When you look at all the evidence in this case, not just the description of what he did to each of these children, but look at the pictures that he actually saved and what he said about those pictures and what he felt about those pictures, clearly Mr. Veches posed a danger to the children of our community and he needed to be in prison," Hanson said.
"It is definitely a different case than what I deal with every day," the prosecutor added. "Each of these cases is individual and you have to look at them, but obviously the conduct is very different."
Veches was arrested April 17, 2002, a day after a co-worker reported seeing him crouched below a boy, sucking his toes.
By his own admission in an interview with detectives, Veches relayed that feet were something that he had liked all his life.
Link for the disbelievers:
http://www.msnbc.com/local/knbc/a1694154.asp
SANTA ANA, Calif., 7:37 p.m. PDT July 11, 2003 - A man who sucked the toes of 20 boys faces the rest of his life in prison.
The former Newport Beach youth program supervisor was convicted of 25 counts of lewd conduct and assault and on Friday was sentenced to life in prison, with eligibility for parole in 15 years.
Trenton Michael Veches, 32, would have faced up to 300 years in prison, with eligibility after 45 years, had Orange County Superior Court Judge Richard Toohey ordered that sentences on the counts be served consecutively, instead of concurrently.
Veches' attorney, John Patrick Dolan, argued during trial that his client's actions with the boys, who were between the ages of 6 and 10, were "nothing more than horseplay."
But jurors, who deliberated 1 1/2 days, determined they were sexual in nature.
Outside the courtroom, Veches' mother, Joyce Ormes, defended her son.
"I don't know how he can spend life in prison for this when there was no sexual contact with the genitals, things like that," Ormes said.
"You could slap a little boy on the butt and if somebody sees it and turns you in you could go to jail for life, so, how do you feel that's fair?"
"And he didn't prey on these children like it was made to look like in the court," she said. "And I think the parents did more damage to their kids by making them testify in that courtroom."
But Deputy District Attorney Sheila Hanson said Veches "clearly befriended these children, manipulated them and he sexually molested them."
"He did have physical contact with their toes," Hanson said, "and at least with one victim, other parts of that boy's body.
"When you look at all the evidence in this case, not just the description of what he did to each of these children, but look at the pictures that he actually saved and what he said about those pictures and what he felt about those pictures, clearly Mr. Veches posed a danger to the children of our community and he needed to be in prison," Hanson said.
"It is definitely a different case than what I deal with every day," the prosecutor added. "Each of these cases is individual and you have to look at them, but obviously the conduct is very different."
Veches was arrested April 17, 2002, a day after a co-worker reported seeing him crouched below a boy, sucking his toes.
By his own admission in an interview with detectives, Veches relayed that feet were something that he had liked all his life.
Link for the disbelievers:
http://www.msnbc.com/local/knbc/a1694154.asp