The prosecutor in a child rape case that caused deep divisions within the small Southeast community of Hoonah is seeking to overturn the referral of his sentencing to a three-judge panel.
Thomas Jack Jr., 40, was convicted by a Juneau jury of six felony counts of sexually assaulting his 11-year-old foster daughter. Prosecutors had asked for the minimum sentence of 40 years and one day in prison.
But at Jack’s sentencing hearing in Juneau Superior Court on Jan. 10, Judge Philip Pallenberg granted his request to have a statewide panel of judges review his case.
The three-judge panel could opt to reduce the possible sentence by 50 percent — to 20 years — but it could also opt for up to the maximum possible sentence of 99 years.
Assistant District Attorney Angie Kemp said at the time Pallenberg’s decision to refer the case was expected, explaining that case law is clear that when there is a doubt in regard to sentencing, the judge needs to err on the side of caution.
But she subsequently filed a motion for reconsideration of the referral, as well as a motion to postpone the commencement of the three-judge panel.
Jack was arrested in 2009 and stood trial in Juneau initially in February 2010; the jury did not reach a verdict. After a second trial in July 2010, he was found guilty on all but one count of first-degree sexual abuse of a minor. Recently, then-Rep. Cathy Muñoz, R-Juneau, sparked outrage in the capital city and statewide when it was revealed she sent a letter to Pallenberg, asking him to consider a lighter sentence for Jack.
At the Jan. 10 hearing, Pallenberg said he did not think a 40-year sentence was unjust, noting that Jack repeatedly molested the girl over a period of time.
Pallenberg noted that a pre-sentencing report gave Jack only a guarded prognosis of rehabilitation, due to his refusal to acknowledge guilt. But the judge said he was bound by a lower threshold established in a 2012 ruling that allows for consideration of “ordinary” potential for rehabilitation, rather than the current standard of “extraordinary potential.”
In her motion, filed the next day on Jan. 11, Kemp disagreed with Pallenberg’s ruling and asked for reconsideration. For one, Kemp said, Pallenberg should not have used the 2012 ruling to control his analysis, because that sentencing rule never went into effect. Kemp also argued that because Pallenberg did not find that Jack’s presumptive sentence of 40 years was unjust, the case should not have been referred to the panel.
Kemp also filed a motion to postpone the panel, writing that if her motion for reconsideration is denied she anticipates filing a petition for review with the court of appeals.
• Contact reporter Liz Kellar at 523-2246 or at liz.kellar@juneauempire.com.
