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Posted on Fri, Oct. 31, 2003
Pair plead guilty in Kenmore abuse
Women at mercy of court
By Phil Trexler
Beacon Journal staff writer
As their eyes locked onto each other and swelled with tears, Mary Rowles whispered, ``I love you.''
In minutes, Rowles and her partner, Alice Jenkins, would embark on a journey that will undoubtedly end in a lengthy prison stay.
Just how long they will be incarcerated won't be learned until they are sentenced Dec. 10.
The Kenmore women, living together as a couple for seven years, avoided a trial that was supposed to start next week and pleaded guilty as charged Thursday to a 55-count indictment alleging they abused Rowles' six children.
They have now thrown themselves on the mercy of a Summit County judge who has already said 15 years in prison is not enough for what they did to the children.
The women pleaded guilty, their attorneys said, to avoid having Rowles' children testify about the abuse -- the dark, urine-soaked closet they were forced to live in for days and weeks, the kicks to the groin, the scant morsels of food they ate while kneeling at attention.
They also pleaded guilty, the attorneys said, because a conviction and lengthy prison sentence appeared inevitable. And a guilty verdict at trial on just three counts could have netted a possible 30-year prison term.
In the next six weeks, defense attorneys Don Malarcik and Kirk Migdal will focus on one issue: minimizing the sentence Judge Patricia A. Cosgrove can give their clients.
Theoretically, the women could be sentenced to more than 100 years in prison.
In the meantime, the women will undergo a presentence investigation that will touch on their personal history and their thoughts on the crimes they've admitted committing against the children, ages 6 to 14. Neither woman has a criminal history.
Prosecutors, meanwhile, will talk to the children's psychiatrists, counselors and foster families to show the court the devastation experienced by the children and the impact the crimes will have on their future.
``I've got to prepare for Dec. 10 as if it's the most important day in Mary's life,'' Migdal said. ``It's a daunting task because of the allegations. There are heartbreaking and inflammatory accusations here that involve children.''
Neither defense lawyers nor prosecutors would say how much prison time they will request from Cosgrove.
Chief Criminal Prosecutor Mary Ann Kovach said she would not be bound to the 15-year sentences the judge rejected last month. She said there were other restrictions required of the women had the plea agreement been approved.
Defense lawyers said the requirements include letters to the children from the women admitting their guilt and indicating the children did nothing to warrant the harsh punishment.
``I'm happy for the kids that they don't have to testify. That was our objective all along,'' Kovach said. ``But the plea bargain (offered in September) involved more than a particular amount of time.
``So, I want to see what happens between now and the time of sentencing. I want to see if certain things occur. At this point, there's no particular time we'll be seeking. But I certainly don't anticipate asking for less than 15 years.''
The children remain in two foster homes. Kovach said the kids are in school, are in counseling and have gained weight.
``They're a really great group of kids. They're resilient, their weights are up to where they should be, but we're still concerned about the long-term psychological effects,'' she said.
In April, three of the boys fled their Florida Avenue home in the middle of the night. After being picked up by Akron police officers, the children revealed a history of abuse at the hands of their mother and her domestic partner. The boys said they and their two brothers had been hit with a hammer, whipped with a belt, kicked in the groin and forced to eat animal feces over the past year. They said they were forced to sleep in a urine-saturated closet with no lights or windows.
Police said the boys were generally reprimanded for stealing food late at night, and the windowless closet was used as a punishment tool.
Their 12-year-old sister appeared to be well-fed and was not subjected to the same abuse, police said. She is still considered a victim in the indictments against Rowles and Jenkins.
Cosgrove nixed the 15-year plea agreement in September, telling attorneys she wanted to retain authority to sentence the women and the prison term that would have been imposed was not severe enough.
Malarcik, who represents Jenkins, said the women will write their children, expressing their remorse. He also said he hopes to put the acts into a context that might mitigate the crimes.
``I don't know that we can minimize what happened, but we want to put it into context and explain why this occurred as best we can. Certainly, there's no excuse, but there is a context in which these things occurred,'' he said.
``We hope the letters (from the women to the children) will assist in the children's healing process and indicate to them that they did nothing to warrant the punishment received.''
For now, Rowles and Jenkins will remain in the Summit County Jail without bond. Jenkins' bond was revoked after she pleaded guilty.
Rowles has been in jail since her arrest in May. Dressed in orange jail garb and cuffed at the ankles and wrists, she wept openly from the minute she laid eyes on Jenkins in court. She bounced on her toes and dabbed tears as she pleaded guilty to all the charges.
Jenkins' eyes were red when she entered the courtroom with her mother, Virginia, and brother and sister-in-law. She, too, openly cried as she admitted her guilt.
Jenkins had been free on bond all summer, but is now preparing for a lengthy stint in prison.
``I don't know if anyone, especially someone who has never been to prison, can realistically contemplate what a significant prison sentence is like,'' Migdal said. ``It obviously hit home today, but I don't know if you can fathom what it's like.''
Pair plead guilty in Kenmore abuse
Women at mercy of court
By Phil Trexler
Beacon Journal staff writer
As their eyes locked onto each other and swelled with tears, Mary Rowles whispered, ``I love you.''
In minutes, Rowles and her partner, Alice Jenkins, would embark on a journey that will undoubtedly end in a lengthy prison stay.
Just how long they will be incarcerated won't be learned until they are sentenced Dec. 10.
The Kenmore women, living together as a couple for seven years, avoided a trial that was supposed to start next week and pleaded guilty as charged Thursday to a 55-count indictment alleging they abused Rowles' six children.
They have now thrown themselves on the mercy of a Summit County judge who has already said 15 years in prison is not enough for what they did to the children.
The women pleaded guilty, their attorneys said, to avoid having Rowles' children testify about the abuse -- the dark, urine-soaked closet they were forced to live in for days and weeks, the kicks to the groin, the scant morsels of food they ate while kneeling at attention.
They also pleaded guilty, the attorneys said, because a conviction and lengthy prison sentence appeared inevitable. And a guilty verdict at trial on just three counts could have netted a possible 30-year prison term.
In the next six weeks, defense attorneys Don Malarcik and Kirk Migdal will focus on one issue: minimizing the sentence Judge Patricia A. Cosgrove can give their clients.
Theoretically, the women could be sentenced to more than 100 years in prison.
In the meantime, the women will undergo a presentence investigation that will touch on their personal history and their thoughts on the crimes they've admitted committing against the children, ages 6 to 14. Neither woman has a criminal history.
Prosecutors, meanwhile, will talk to the children's psychiatrists, counselors and foster families to show the court the devastation experienced by the children and the impact the crimes will have on their future.
``I've got to prepare for Dec. 10 as if it's the most important day in Mary's life,'' Migdal said. ``It's a daunting task because of the allegations. There are heartbreaking and inflammatory accusations here that involve children.''
Neither defense lawyers nor prosecutors would say how much prison time they will request from Cosgrove.
Chief Criminal Prosecutor Mary Ann Kovach said she would not be bound to the 15-year sentences the judge rejected last month. She said there were other restrictions required of the women had the plea agreement been approved.
Defense lawyers said the requirements include letters to the children from the women admitting their guilt and indicating the children did nothing to warrant the harsh punishment.
``I'm happy for the kids that they don't have to testify. That was our objective all along,'' Kovach said. ``But the plea bargain (offered in September) involved more than a particular amount of time.
``So, I want to see what happens between now and the time of sentencing. I want to see if certain things occur. At this point, there's no particular time we'll be seeking. But I certainly don't anticipate asking for less than 15 years.''
The children remain in two foster homes. Kovach said the kids are in school, are in counseling and have gained weight.
``They're a really great group of kids. They're resilient, their weights are up to where they should be, but we're still concerned about the long-term psychological effects,'' she said.
In April, three of the boys fled their Florida Avenue home in the middle of the night. After being picked up by Akron police officers, the children revealed a history of abuse at the hands of their mother and her domestic partner. The boys said they and their two brothers had been hit with a hammer, whipped with a belt, kicked in the groin and forced to eat animal feces over the past year. They said they were forced to sleep in a urine-saturated closet with no lights or windows.
Police said the boys were generally reprimanded for stealing food late at night, and the windowless closet was used as a punishment tool.
Their 12-year-old sister appeared to be well-fed and was not subjected to the same abuse, police said. She is still considered a victim in the indictments against Rowles and Jenkins.
Cosgrove nixed the 15-year plea agreement in September, telling attorneys she wanted to retain authority to sentence the women and the prison term that would have been imposed was not severe enough.
Malarcik, who represents Jenkins, said the women will write their children, expressing their remorse. He also said he hopes to put the acts into a context that might mitigate the crimes.
``I don't know that we can minimize what happened, but we want to put it into context and explain why this occurred as best we can. Certainly, there's no excuse, but there is a context in which these things occurred,'' he said.
``We hope the letters (from the women to the children) will assist in the children's healing process and indicate to them that they did nothing to warrant the punishment received.''
For now, Rowles and Jenkins will remain in the Summit County Jail without bond. Jenkins' bond was revoked after she pleaded guilty.
Rowles has been in jail since her arrest in May. Dressed in orange jail garb and cuffed at the ankles and wrists, she wept openly from the minute she laid eyes on Jenkins in court. She bounced on her toes and dabbed tears as she pleaded guilty to all the charges.
Jenkins' eyes were red when she entered the courtroom with her mother, Virginia, and brother and sister-in-law. She, too, openly cried as she admitted her guilt.
Jenkins had been free on bond all summer, but is now preparing for a lengthy stint in prison.
``I don't know if anyone, especially someone who has never been to prison, can realistically contemplate what a significant prison sentence is like,'' Migdal said. ``It obviously hit home today, but I don't know if you can fathom what it's like.''
