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| Time keeps on slippin' |
The situation may still be fluid; here's what we know right now based on information sent to victims by the prosecution this morning:
8/6/2013 (Tues -- Original sentencing date) This is back on, but in front of a different judge, and only to reschedule the hearing for the following day.
8/7/2013 (Weds) Sentencing will be reset to August 26th, 2013. Prosecution may argue to have ayres remanded into custody in the interim.
8/26/2013 (Mon) New sentencing date for the moment.
Here's a general synopsis of what's going on currently:
While dates do seem to be finally pinned down, I'd recommend checking if you're planning to attend, as there appear to be many factors in play. (Call the court at 650-363-4302 - Press 1 and then . Ask for case number SC064366.)
Delayed Report:
The judge wanted a report as required by California Penal Code Section 288.1 to be completed by the time of sentencing. They were having trouble finding a "reputable" <snicker> shrink who was not potentially biased through their relationship with ayres. They finally found one who met the qualifications and who was willing to submit the report, but they need more time to complete the report, so the court needed to move the date of sentencing accordingly.
Here's the text of the statute requiring the 288.1 report:
Any person convicted of committing any lewd or lascivious act including any of the acts constituting other crimes provided for in Part 1 of this code upon or with the body, or any part or member thereof, of a child under the age of 14 years shall not have his or her sentence suspended until the court obtains a report from a reputable psychiatrist, from a reputable psychologist who meets the standards set forth in Section 1027, as to the mental condition of that person.
Other Motions:
Further, the defense has indicated that they might be filing other motions that will further delay sentencing. (This seems like a bit of a non-issue -- the defense always waits until the last moment to file delay motions, so allowing more time is only going to mean that that time won't be used until the last day.)
Scheduling Befuddlement:
Original plan was to reset the schedule on 8/5. Both the court and the prosecution were concerned about ayres not being in custody, and were potentially planning to remand ayres into custody in the interim between now and sentencing. Then Shyster McDougall claimed conflict with the 5th. While dates were moving around, the Judge scheduled an unrelated item for the 6th, so that date is no longer available, but the 7th is. Everyone will meet on the 6th (in front of a different judge), and just move the hearing to the 7th.
On the 7th, Judge Freeman will be back, and they will reschedule the sentencing to the 26th, and the prosecution will argue for remanding ayres into custody in the interim.
The prosecution has asked that victims, families, and other interested parties be made aware that the following are important dates for people to show up in court to help impart some urgency in the matter:
8/7/2013 (Wednesday): Prosecution will be arguing to have ayres remanded into custody (locked up) in the interim between then and whenever sentencing takes place.
8/26/2013 (Monday)(anticipated): Sentencing / Victim Impact statements before the Judge.
UPDATE (8/1/2013): There is now a good article in the San Mateo Daily Journal (pdf) with more extensive commentary from DA Wagstaffe on this matter.
william hamilton ayres was arrested on April 5, 2007 on charges relating to his molestation of many young boys while he was alleging to provide psychiatric care to private patients as well as referrals for evaluation from the juvenile court system in San Mateo County. After years of playing demented for the courts, ayres plead "No Contest" and was found guilty of all charges against him on May 16, 2013. ayres is on bail awaiting sentencing, and is currently under the conservatorship of his daughter Barbara Ayres of Sacramento, CA.
ayres has had significant interaction over the years with local politicians on boards like the "Children and Families First Commission," including the DA who was serving when prosecution began Jim Fox and Assemblyman Rich Gordon. In fact, Gordon nominated ayres for a lifetime achievement award for his "Tireless effort to improve the lives of children." ayres has also been vocally supported during his criminal trial by local head-shrinkers like Bart Blinder, Etta Bryant, Mel Blaustein, Harry Coren, Tom Ciesla, Robert Kimmich, Larry Lurie, Maria Lymberis, Richard Shadoan, Captane Thomson, and Harold Wallach.
Deep: How come almost no one ever comments here? Do you ever get the feeling that no one cares about this case? You have done a Helluva of lot of work and yet no one ever comments here, let alone thanks you. Why not just pull the plug on this blog? What's the point if no one ever responds ?
ReplyDeleteThere are plenty of comments on this blog. And even if there weren't the evil that ayres & his protectors have done is reason enough to make a record of the machinations they got up to to prevent this day from coming.
DeleteC
8/7 Time for ayres to go to prison now. This has dragged out LONG enough. Give the victims some justice now. They have all been patient long enough while ayres and McDogall play their endless games. The entire case has been torture in itself for the victims. ayres needs to pay the price for his crimes.
ReplyDeleteJoel Silver: R. I. P. . We will miss you.
ReplyDeleteWagstaffe in today's Daily Journal: “He has successfully delayed facing incarceration for his heinous acts against children and it is time that his avoidance of punishment comes to an end,” said District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe.
ReplyDeleteThe state requires a doctor evaluation of defendants convicted of some sex crimes, including child molestation. The report on Ayres was delayed because multiple doctors approached to perform the evaluation claimed a conflict due to connections to Ayres. A doctor was finally found in July but asked for two more weeks to finish his report on Ayres’ future danger.
Wagstaffe said his office has a better chance this time of getting Ayres back into jail because if that doctor didn’t need more time to complete his report, the former psychiatrist — who is now convicted rather than given the presumption of innocence — would be starting to serve his sentence Tuesday.
“Well, he can get started now,” Wagstaffe said.
_____
Huh? If Wagstaffe wanted to see Ayres in jail so badly, why did he allow his office to drag this case out for six and a half bizarre years? Why didn't he make sure his prosecutor was up to snuff for the competency trial in 2011? The prosecutor was telling anyone who would listen that Ayres wasn't competent, and belonged in a nursing home. And this was BEFORE the competency trial.
Why did Wagstaffe in August 2011 tell a government official that he was seriously considering retrying Ayres for mental competency but then a day later, when presented with actual evidence that Ayres was competent to stand trial, did Wagstaffe act like a scared rabbit, refuse to take calls from reporters and when finally reached on the phone by a mother of a victim, Wagstaffe said he wasn't retrying Ayres because Ayres had a walker and he couldn't "justify the cost of a retrial?"
It's only thanks to pressure from the San Mateo Board of Supervisors this spring that pushed Wagstaffe into adding competent prosecutors on the case. Wagstaffe has been pushed into a conviction of Ayres kicking and screaming. In May, he kept complaining to a reporter about how much this case cost. Well, if he hadn't been such a lying corrupt DA who is only worried about lawsuits against the County with a conviction, this case would have wrapped up years ago.
But don't worry, Steve!! Those lawsuits against the County are coming down the pike!!
Thanks for pointing the San Mateo Daily Journal article out. I've linked to it in the update at the bottom of my post.
DeleteDistrict Attorney Steve Wagstaffe is as much a criminal as those he puts behind bars.
ReplyDeleteVote out the lying, corrupt and incompetent Wagstaffe out of office.
This turkey will never spend a day in prison - or if it does, it will probably serve half, or less than half, of a minimum (e.g., anything less than 20 years) sentence. Left free, it will eventually reoffend. People rarely change and old sexual compulsions and personality traits die hard. Therapy makes psychopaths worse. If it serves little or no time behind bars, I suspect other child abusers - especially those who are socially and verbally facile and able to charm high-ranking professionals - will think of San Mateo County as a safe haven in which for them to live and do business. As a result, the legacy and reputation of those who hired, promoted, and defended it will be tarnished and the County will expose itself to liabilities caused by other contractors and employees who abuse children in the future.
ReplyDeleteTo admit you have hired, promoted, or defended the wrong person is OK. To err is to be human. Anyone can be fooled by a skilled liar.
The psychopath in question should spend the rest of its life in prison. Politics have trumped justice in this criminal case.
As a result, the legacy and reputation of those who hired, promoted, and defended it will be tarnished and the County will expose itself to liabilities caused by other contractors and employees who abuse children in the future.
DeleteI don't know that there is any perception by those who "hired, promoted,and defended" that their reputation is actually tarnished. Actions speak louder than words, as it were.
Anyone heard anything about Ayres withdrawing his plea ?
ReplyDeleteIn one of the civil lawsuits against ayres, the attorney for the plaintiff has been pushing for ayres to make his official deposition prior to going to trial.
Deleteayres' defense attorney has been arguing that ayres should not be compelled to make a deposition on the ground that it could incriminate him should he have to go to court in the criminal matter again -- appeals... or plea withdrawal, I suppose, as you mention.
But, just this last week there was supposed to be a hearing about compelling him to make his deposition, and criminal attorney McDougall was supposed to expound upon this line of reasoning -- but it turns out that ayres' attorneys had apparently already decided to go ahead and let him be deposed, so that happened a couple of weeks ago.
I don't know if this has any bearing or provides any clarification really, but it would seem to me that they would have tried to delay the deposition more if they thought that the criminal matter was going to go back to court.
On the other hand, the judge seems adamant about getting that 288.1 report before sentencing, so perhaps there is some understanding that sentence will be suspended in favor of some other arrangement.
Who knows... It's pretty much all up in the air really, until it's a done deal, which never seems to happen.
I think I am shocked that his side is still fighting so hard. Then I am not surprised either.
DeleteI think the end game is this; ayers is going to die eventually. I expect it is a day that is not very far off. If they manage to delay his sentencing to beyond that day it is a victory for them. I suspect they intend to wound the victims further, as much as is possible for as long as is possible to punish them for winning and forcing him to admit he molested them in public.
I'm not sure what may be motivating McDougal other than money. I wonder if he has to dissociate or if he does this eyes wide open.
Ah, the proverbial worry: "He's going to die" theme.
DeletePeople have been saying that ever since the victim made the complaint back in September 2002 that got the ball rolling on this current criminal case. The police worried back back in 2006 when they did the search warrant on Ayres' home that he would probably die before they could arrest him.
But Ayres keeps chugging along while others, including his former partner Hugh Ridlehuber, keep dying.
Ayres' father was long-lived and I wouldn't be surprised to see Ayres live for quite a while.
The last 11 years have been a LIVING HELL for Ayres. Lawsuits, police investigations upturning his home, jail, Napa, former colleagues turning against him.
If you read his talks to medical groups from the past, he's always had an obsession with prosecutors and judges... it's as if he knew he was going to get caught.
Yeah, ayres is not going to die waiting... I've been watching him in court, and he's perfectly healthy. He looks NOTHING like what they keep showing in the paper. He's not some frail, drooling fool waiting to die.
DeleteRemember, he's healthy enough to help corner a young man to groom for sexual behavior while locked up at Napa. Let's not fool ourselves into treating the man with undeserved sympathy or dignity.
Anything that he gets away with will be at the hands of the people he's worked closely with all these years.
I had no intention of eliciting sympathy. I would have thought my post made that clear.
DeleteI cannot be held responsible for what you think I can only take responsibility for what I say.
You might ask yourselves why it is your minds went to sympathy for him on reading my post. I want the scum to suffer as much as possible.
Anon @August 2, 2013 7:46PM:
DeleteActually, I wasn't really implying that YOU personally were trying to elicit sympathy, I was just issuing a general warning to people in general -- "The Reader" -- from falling for the picture that is being presented. (Otherwise, I'd have been VERY direct: "YOU shouldn't fool yourself" for example.)
Let me be very clear, then: You tell my that we might ask ourselves why our minds went to sympathy. I KNOW perfectly well why:
- Powerful politicians have told us that ayres is an upstanding citizen.
- A sitting San Mateo County Judge told us that we were treading on thin ice by accusing the molester.
- Well respected shrinks told us and the community that he couldn't possibly have done these things.
-The Judge in the case (Now nominated for a FEDERAL judgeship) told us that it would be unfair to the child molester to pile on TOO MANY out-of-statute witnesses, and limited the count to four. (There were MANY more who were willing to testify.)
- It was difficult for the court to find a non-biased shrink to evaluate ayres' competency.
- It was difficult for the court to find a non-biased shrink to file the 288.1 report.
- Several Shrinks at Napa state were so enamored of
ayres, that they easily fell for his ruse, in spite of staff indicating otherwise; They even allowed the defense attorney free reign of the facility: something that the staff says is NEVER done for anyone else.
- Many commenters to this blog, and to press in general expound upon how old and ill the child molester is, and that he's probably not capable of re-offending, and should just be sent to a care home for people suffering dementia.
Finally (but I'm sure I can think of many more examples) even the PRESS keeps publishing THIS PHOTO, as recently as last week. A photo that paints a sympathetic picture of a deteriorating frail man, a photo that was taken when the molester was prepping for his evaluation at Napa. And it is nothing like what the molester actually looks like at this time.
Yes.
I'm ALWAYS wary to warn the public to not buy into the very subtle manipulation that is going on to provide a soft landing for this colleague of so many in power in this county.
Remember, this beast was convicted of 8 counts of child molestation, with more than 40 or 50 total people having (convincingly) gone on record with the authorities about having been molested, and who saw THOUSANDS of boys over his long career, many of whom were totally dependent upon him to file positive reports to the court in their juvenile cases. This is a DANGEROUS and DECEPTIVE monster.
The defense has asked for a maximum of 8 years in prison.
Let's see if he gets ANY time in prison.
The child abuser should not spend 8 years in prison; rather, it should be immediately remanded into custody and forced to spend the rest of its life in prison with no possibility of parole.
ReplyDeleteLeft free, the psychopath will reoffend. Indeed, the psychopath did just that at Napa State Hospital. So much for its remorse for past crimes!
Age is just a number. The psychopath appears to be mentally alert and physically strong in photos and videos that have been taken during the last year. That it groomed a mentally disabled man at Napa State tells me that the executive function of the psychopath's brain function well. Its years-long attempt to deceive the Court into thinking it had Alzheimer's disease, or its antecedent dementia, further proves the health of its brain's executive function. Also note the psychopath is a backseat driver, is well-groomed in and out of the Court, and it lives independently. It's also currently overweight! It danced at Napa State, which strongly suggests that it probably uses a walker and wheelchair in court in order to deceive observers into being sympathetic to it. Classic psychopathic pity play. How does one dance with a walker? Given the apparent current mental and physical health of the psychopath, it might live for many years to come.
Perhaps this is a stretch, but some of the legal footdragging here might due to the Court's desire to save itself and the state money. Older criminals are costlier and less lucrative to imprison than young(er) criminals because the former are more likely to have mental and physical issues and they do not work in prison and thereby provide cheap labor for the state or the corporations that (indirectly) hire inmates. Moreover, psychopaths (such as this child abuser) hate to follow orders and are less cooperative than non-violent drug offenders. Finally, child abusers are among the lowest of the low in the prison social hierarchy, which means the psychopath would need to receive more than average protection from other inmates. In other words, the state saves itself money during every day the psychopath is loose. Follow the money?
But mostly, this is about its strong social connections - its wall of protection - that the psychopath has forged for itself over the course of a lifetime. Without a posse, the psychopath would probably be defenseless.
If it lies about having dementia or Alzheimer's (or mild cognitive impairment, or whatever else it wants to invent for itself), and if it lies about needing (versus choosing) to use a walker or wheelchair, what else does the psychopath lie about? The psychopath excels at deceit - and manipulation.
The psychopath will probably pull a last-minute legal curveball. Who is in control here?
1) Robert Foiles is the Presiding Judge in San Mateo County
ReplyDelete2) Robert Foiles used to be a prosecutor in the San Mateo DA's office.
3) Robert Foiles was a prosecutor on JUVENILE cases.
4) Robert Foiles , as a prosecutor in the juvenile division, in agreement with a defense attorney, sent a juvenile who was being tried as an adult, to Ayres.
5) At the first session, Ayres stated to the young boy that he, Ayres was his" only friend in the world" and he, Ayres, was "the only one could help him get out of the trouble" the boy was in.
6) Ayres then showed the boy graphic child pornography and asked if he'd had sex with other boys or adults.
7) In the third session, the boy noticed that Ayres, who had his briefcase in front of him as a sort of shield, was making some strange movements behind the briefcase with his hands.
When the boy moved his chair, he saw what Ayres was up to behind the briefcase: he had exposed himself and was masturbating.
When the boy tried to leave the room, Ayres said to him, "If you tell, I will make sure you are locked up for the rest of your life."
8) In the next session, Ayres pressured the boy to engage in sodomy with him.
The boy refused.
9) Ayres testified at the boy's trial. The boy kept his head down the entire time Ayres was testifying.
10) The boy, a young teenager, received life without parole.
This happened not all that long ago.
This is just one of many sad stories told by inmates from San Mateo County. Wagstaffe doesn't want to know about these incidents, because it would mean a judicial review of the case, and a possible retrial and sentencing.
You think Robert Foiles hasn't thought about the cases he worked on where juveniles were sent to Ayres? Why has he been allowed anywhere near the Ayres case?
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There are some strong indications that another boy who was sent by then Juvenile Judge Marta Diaz in 2002 to Ayres AFTER she tried to get the police to stop investigating Ayres, was also sexually assaulted by Ayres. This man is only 24 and is now incarcerated in a state prison.
The police have a cockamamie theory that Ayres stopped molesting juveniles decades ago. But the truth is he was molesting juveniles in the 90s and up until 2003, when the County finally stopped sending boys to him.
San Mateo County has ignored all requests to seek out and interview the juveniles who were sent to Ayres for 40 years.
Foiles will be the judge at the Ayres hearing on August 6.
ReplyDeleteWell, well.
Foiles has heard several aspect of the molester's long court presence:
DeleteHe's heard parts of the criminal case, especially as they related to the competency matter. He's also been involved in several of the civil lawsuits against ayres, and he heard parts of the conservatorship that put ayres under the conservatorship of his daughter Barbara Ayres of Sacramento.
On the 6th, his only involvement is (supposed to be) putting the hearing over until the next day, when Freeman returns. Basically, to get the date change officially on the books.
Interesting find though... is there some resource or calendar that I'm not aware of that allowed you to find out who was scheduled?