Man can’t hide behind pills; guilty of sex abuse

PALMER — A man accused of child molestation couldn’t prove it was his prescription medications made him do it, a judge ruled Wednesday.

Mario Paradiso, 55, was arrested in December 2007, charged with sexual abuse of a minor for molesting two girls who at the time were aged 5 and 7.

For the past week he’d been on trial before Superior Court Judge Vanessa White, with the understanding a verdict would come from the judge rather than from a jury. Wednesday, White made her decision — guilty on both counts.

“The defendant does not dispute that he had sexual contact with the girls,” White said. “He is arguing that he did not act knowingly because he was not aware of his conduct.”

At trial, lawyers for Paradiso argued their client was on the prescription sleeping pill Ambien at the time. Ambien, they said, is known to put isolated patients into a state akin to sleepwalking, during which they have been reported to do things — cook, have sex — that they had no idea they were doing.

White typified Paradiso’s claim as akin to one raised in other states, though not yet Alaska, called an “involuntary intoxication” defense — that drugs he didn’t knew had these side-effects or which he was nevertheless ordered to take, had caused him to molest the girls.

In her opinion, White said, “If the issue were squarely raised before our appellate court they would adopt an involuntary intoxication defense.”

But this isn’t that case.

First of all, she said, Paradiso hasn’t proven he was even taking the drug at the time. His prescription for Ambien had run out two years prior to the incident, at which point his doctor apparently switched him to Lunesta. In 24 months, White said, Paradiso refilled his Lunesta prescription 21 times.

Not only that, but the Lunesta bottle he had on him at the time of his arrest turned out to contain Lunesta. So Paradiso couldn’t argue he’d had Ambien but stored it in the wrong bottle. Similar results were obtained testing Paradiso’s other medications.

“The Crestor bottle had Crestor pills. The Valium bottle had Valium pills,” she said.

Secondly, Paradiso’s statements to the girls mother showed he at least remembered part of the night. He remembered the television was on. He remembered the girls had jumped on his stomach. He remembered a conversation they’d had. In short, he could recall things from both before and after the molestation.

If the Ambien had caused a mental disturbance prompting memory loss and causing him to act in ways he was unaware of, White said, “it would be the most episodically convenient disturbance in mental capacities imaginable.”

In summary, White said, she didn’t believe Paradiso’s claims.

“I find that there is ample evidence in the record that the defendant knew what he was doing and knew that it was morally and ethically wrong,” she said.

After her verdict, White set Paradiso’s sentencing for June 19 at 9 a.m.