Judge Sentences Groton Man to 18 Years for Sexual Assault

Edward Allen, 65, was sentenced Friday to a prison term of 18 years for the sexual assault of a minor child at his home in Groton. The sentence would be suspended after 13 years, so he would serve 13 years in jail. 

It was Allen’s first appearance in New London Superior Court since April 1, when a jury found him guilty of three counts of risk of injury to a minor and three counts of sexual assault.

The sexual assaults, described in graphic detail by the victim, now 17, began in 2000 when the girl was 7 years old and continued for the four years during which the girl and her mother lived with Allen at his Groton home.   

Although Allen had turned down a pre-trial plea offer that would have netted him four years in prison, Assistant State’s Attorney Christa Baker asked Judge Stuart M. Schimelman to impose the maximum penalty at sentencing.

“The initial offer by the state was made before the case was fully developed and with the victims in mind, knowing that testifying would traumatize them,” Baker said.

Since the trial, she said the victim had suffered a mental breakdown and was having nightmares about the experience she had been forced to relive on the witness stand. In light of this, Baker said, the state was now asking for a lengthy sentence.  

Allen’s attorney, Brian J. Woolf, told the court that his client had rejected the initial plea offer because he continues to maintain his innocence.

“He said, ‘Even if it was one day, I would not take it. I did not do this,’” Woolf said. “He honestly feels he was wrongfully convicted.”

Woolf, who expressed his own surprise at the guilty verdict, pointed out that in light of his client’s age, “the maximum period of incarceration would be a life sentence.”

Allen’s friends and family appealed for leniency, describing the former Electic Boat employee as the kind of person who would give the shirt off his back, noting that their own children had grown up around him.

Speaking on behalf of the defense, Dr. James Connolly, a forensic psychologist, told the court Allen is unlikely to repeat his offense, and that he scored 1 out of a possible 12 on a test designed to assess recidivism of sex offenders.

Judge Schimelman said he would take everything into consideration but, in the end, the trauma suffered by the victim carried the most weight. 

“As far as I’m concerned, the jury has spoken and you stand before me convicted of very serious charges," Shimelman said. "You have been convicted of these heinous offenses. You, as well as I, heard that young lady who at seven years old indicated she had been violated in ways that are despicable. You have changed her life forever.”

Schimelman sentenced Allen to eight years for each of the three counts of risk of injury to a minor--to be served concurrently--and 18 years, to be suspended after 13, for each of the three counts of sexual assault, also to be served concurrently. The sentence will ensure that Allen is incarcerated for at least 13 years and, upon release, will be on probation for 10 years and under lifetime supervision. 

“I firmly believe in deterrence. If we tolerate these types of crimes, we don’t deserve to be called a society,” Schimelman said. “I think the only way we’re going to end this cycle is to make it clear this type of behavior must be dealt with severely. These younger victims need to be protected.”  

Woolf said he plans to appeal the verdict. Part of that appeal will be based on Judge Schimelman’s decision to allow the jury to hear from a second victim, now 27, who testified at trial that Allen sexually assaulted her when she was between the ages of 10 and 15.

The state could not press charges against Allen in that case, because the statute of limitations had run out. However, Schimelman ruled that Connecticut law permitted the prosecution to put her on the stand as a witness to show Allen’s “propensity” for this type of criminal behavior. 

Woolf said he believed that hearing testimony from a second victim, who accused Allen of crimes he had not been charged with, influenced the jury’s guilty verdict. Accordingly, he plans to use that as grounds for appeal.

“It certainly needs clarification from the Connecticut Supreme Court,” said Woolf.

Noting that his client has no prior criminal history and never missed a court date, Woolf asked the court to set an appeal bond. Baker objected, pointing out that Allen was likely to leave the state because he lives in a mobile home and was living in Colorado at the time of his arrest.

Schimelman set the bond at $500,000, with the condition that Allen remain in Connecticut, have no contact with the victim and her family, and surrender his passport. Woolf said he expected Allen to post bond and that the appeal process is likely to take about two years.