59 years for rapist

PALMER — Zebulon Whisler, convicted in August 2011 of raping multiple women over six years, won’t see life outside of prison walls until he’s at least middle-aged.

Whisler, 27, was sentenced Monday to 90 years in prison with 31 suspended, which equals 59 to serve. With time off for good behavior, that means he will likely serve at least 20 years — but probably closer to 39 — behind bars.

Whisler didn’t address the court at his sentencing, but his mother, Tina Whisler, did. She maintained her son’s innocence, beginning her remarks by addressing her son.

“You were arrested on Jan. 4, 2009, with no DNA, no evidence, just what a girl said,” Tina Whisler said. Troopers asked around for more names and came up with five other women, but “no one has ever gotten officially your side of the story.”

She quoted the mother of a man who had a rape conviction overturned telling a newspaper, “I know I didn’t raise my son to do something so horrendous,” then added, “that’s how I feel.”

The first woman to come forward with allegations of what happened between her and Whisler — the last of the six women when the allegations are arranged chronologically — wrote a letter that prosecutor Trina Sears read into the record.

“If I could take back ever meeting you, I wouldn’t,” the letter read, “because the other women deserve this day.”

She wrote of living in constant fear, waking up screaming from nightmares, crying herself to sleep and never feeling safe.

“You have taken so much more than that night from me,” she wrote. But, having helped put him in prison, “I will no longer be ashamed or afraid.”

The jury convicted Whisler on most counts he faced, and the state has very tight regulations on what constitutes a proper sentence for sexual assault. Attorneys on both sides argued for similar sentences.

On the low end, Whisler’s attorney, Krista Maciolek, asked for 48.5 years to serve. She noted the 21 letters of support Whisler had in his file from friends and family, even the principal of Palmer High School.

“He does have quite a bit of support from his friends and family,” she said.

She pointed out that a psychologist’s report noted Whisler had trouble navigating between his strong sexual desires and the strict religious and moral code instilled by his family and church.

There’s an added factor of his genetics — Whisler has Klinefelter’s syndrome, which can make a person anti-social or maladjusted. In Whisler’s case, he had trouble picking up on social cues and understanding when a woman said “no.”

Also, “he’s very young,” Maciolek pointed out.

For her part, Sears said she thought that psychologist’s report probably made Whisler more dangerous instead of less. She also pointed out that Whisler had a record as a juvenile of sex-related crimes.

“His history involves sexual abuse, sexual assault, starting when he was 13 years old,” Sears said. “His history of being a sexual offender, a sexual predator, is as long as people who come in here in their 60s.”

She asked for 63 years to serve.

Superior Court Judge Eric Smith’s 59-year sentence split the difference.

Pointing out his juvenile record, the treatment that followed, and Whisler’s subsequent re-offending, “that’s pretty much the definition of predatory behavior,” Smith said.

Smith pointed out that the six women who came forward “were all of a type, and Mr. Whisler picked those victims.”

Smith also cited the psychologist’s report.

“Mr. Whisler and his family are going to have to accept what is going on and work really hard at sex offender treatment,” he said.

Contact reporter Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.