Man gets 26 years for molesting pre-teen

PALMER — A Wasilla man will spend more than 26 years in prison for sexually abusing a 12-year-old girl last summer.

Thomas Brian Campbell, 39, was arrested in July of 2007, charged with nine counts of sexual abuse of a minor. Alaska State Troopers got wind of the abuse earlier that month.

On Monday, Campbell appeared in court wearing yellow prison scrubs and a goatee. As he started to speak, his shackles clanked against the table where he sat.

“I’m sorry,” he said, choking back tears. “If I could change it I would.”

The victim in the case, a girl who was 12 years old at the time, submitted a letter Assistant District Attorney Rachel Gernat read for Superior Court Judge Beverly Cutler.

“I didn’t know somebody could hurt so many people,” Gernat read. “What kind of person does this to a kid?”

Campbell reached a deal with prosecutors, pleading guilty to two of the charges and accepting a sentence of 31 years and three months with five years suspended for just over 26 years to serve.

Gernat pointed out that there seemed to be evidence that Campbell believed he was in love with the girl and that was the reason he’d had sex with her.

“She wasn’t even a teenager,” Gernat said.

She also pointed out that in a lot of sexual abuse cases lawyers can wrangle over the definition of sex and some cases seem to involve less severe abuse than others. Campbell’s case, she said, falls on the most extreme end of the spectrum.

“This really could not have been worse,” Gernat said.

Gernat said that, unlike in some cases where convicts are let out early for good behavior, it was her opinion that Campbell’s crimes didn’t qualify for that kind of “discretionary parole.”

Speaking on behalf of Campbell, public defender John Richard told the judge his client vehemently denied any claim that he was in love with his victim.

“He is perhaps the most remorseful client I have had,” Richard said, adding that Campbell “had a horrible lapse in judgment.”

Richard also pointed out exactly how severe the sentence was.

“No male in Tommy Campbell’s family has ever lived as long as he will have to live in order to be released on mandatory probation,” Richard said. “This man’s life is over.”

Cutler, in accepting the agreed-upon sentence, said that in criminal cases it’s not always clear why people act the way they do.

“I don’t know why people can’t help themselves in the face of knowing what’s wrong,” Cutler said. “You’re sorry. You wish it didn’t happen. But you’re the only one who could stop it from happening.”

She urged Campbell to make the best of his life in prison, perhaps teaching other inmates a hobby or skill he has or offering them counsel or advice.

“It is a very long sentence,” Cutler said. But, “it is what our legislature has decreed even on a first offense is the penalty for this crime.”

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