Dec. 27, 2006

By MARY AMES

Frontiersman PALMER -After he pleaded no contest to three consolidated counts of sexual assault, incest and coercion, Robert Hale told the judge he didn't do it.

Tuesday afternoon, Hale, 65, rolled into Palmer Superior Court in a wheelchair, with his right leg in a removable splint, and stared frequently at the spectators filling more than two rows of seats. Those spectators included some of his offspring and members of the Lazy Mountain family who took them in.

Hale was indicted by a Palmer grand jury in September on charges of kidnapping, 10 counts of first-degree sexual assault, eight counts of incest, eight counts of coercion, and one charge each of first-, second- and third-degree assault.

In an agreement with the state, Hale pleaded no contest and will receive a 14-year prison sentence. The state and the defense hadn't reached an agreement on how much suspended time will be included in Hale's sentence, but expected to have an agreement in two weeks. If no agreement is reached, the amount of suspended time as well as conditions of Hale's probation will be left to the court.

Hale moved his current wife and their 15 children to Alaska in 1998. The state's charges against him span from Jan. 1, 1998, through Jan. 10, 2005. Hale committed the same crimes against one victim in Anchor Point, Fairbanks, Homer, Kenai and McCarthy, according to the indictment.

Richard Payne, assistant district attorney, said the agreement was best for everyone, but he would back out if he came to believe Hale was not acting in good faith, but was using a plea agreement as a way to gain more time. Hale's trial was scheduled for Jan. 16.

“Some family members and others said this could possibly be a ploy for a continuance,” Payne said. “I'm not disparaging defense counsel. I talked to people who have a window into how the defendant works.”

Payne also said he didn't want Hale's sentencing to be a mini-trail in front of three or four television cameras, and possible national media attention.

Hale propelled himself into headlines first by bulldozing a road through Wrangell St. Elias National Park lands to get access to the mining claim he'd bought. Cloaking himself with the moniker Papa Pilgrim, he remained the focus of media attention as the patriarch of a musical family.

When Alaska State Troopers traveled to the family's home outside of McCarthy to arrest Hale in September, Hale took off in a Dodge van.

For 12 days, Hale remained at large until he was captured near Eagle River.

Superior Court Judge Donald Hopwood carefully laid out the charges, repeating the dates and places of Hale's offenses, before asking whether Hale was pleading no contest to those charges.

“Yes, sir,” Hale said. “I want to make it clear I never sexually assaulted anyone.”

Hale muttered something about dying for the truth before he said he would plead no contest with a clear mind because it was the best for his family. Hale balked at first when Judge Hopwood told him he would have to register as a sex offender for life when he got out of prison, but agreed after listening to his public defender, Lee deGrazia.

When Hopwood asked whether there were any other terms to be discussed, Hale took the opportunity to speak about himself.

“Your Honor, I spent Christmas Day in the hospital,” Hale said. “The found blood clots in my knee. This morning, the doctor gave me months to live.”

The judge refocused Hale to the terms of the plea agreement, and asked whether Hale understood.

“Sometimes I don't understand,” Hale said. “I've got a lot on my mind.”

However, the Oxycodone he'd had in the morning didn't affect his judgment, Hale said, nor did it alleviate his pain.

Hopwood set sentencing for 2 p.m. April 30 in Glennallen, and asked the attorneys to keep him appraised of any changes, “because of the logistics.”

“Everybody is coming from somewhere else,” he said.

Contact Mary Ames at 352-2284 or mary.ames@frontiersman.com.