Rape victim sees justice delayed again

PALMER -- In a case that's lasted nearly two years, a clerical snafu has caused yet another delay in the possible sentencing of rapist Micah Beshaw.

He pleaded no contest in April to one count of first-degree sexual assault for the Sept. 22, 2001, attack of a woman walking home from work just north of Palmer. Beshaw, 28, was to be sentenced July 8, but Superior Court Judge Beverly Cutler granted a postponement after defense attorney Verne Rupright said there was new evidence in the case.

Rupright filed a motion to withdraw Beshaw's plea, and Cutler was to hear arguments on that issue Friday. However, the Palmer District Attorney's office did not meet a deadline to file its response because a requested transcript of Beshaw's original change of plea hearing sat in the courthouse for weeks. A tape of the hearing was discovered Wednesday -- too late for a response from prosecutors.

With the teary-eyed victim in the courtroom, Cutler rescheduled Friday's hearing for Sept. 2. At that time, the judge will either decide the motion has no merit and proceed with sentencing, or, if she grants the motion to withdraw Beshaw's plea, a new trial date will be set.

Cutler castigated the lack of funding for adequate courthouse staff, saying employees in Palmer are severely overworked. That inevitably leads to problems such as the overlooked transcript request, she said.

"The reason for this delay is because we need a lot more clerks in the Palmer courthouse," Cutler said. "A minute task gets put off for weeks and causes a great amount of heartache."

The Palmer judicial district is reportedly the busiest in Alaska, with each judge or magistrate handling more than twice the number of cases as those in Anchorage or Fairbanks.

After the court session, the victim said the delay was just another example of the frustration she's felt since reporting the rape. It took police more than three months to arrest Beshaw, the victim said, and she feared he would show up at work to threaten or possibly kill her. She quit her job, and gave up her apartment so she and her daughter could live with some feeling of safety at the Alaska Family Resource Shelter.

The ordeal, which she called a "gauntlet," has been costly both emotionally and financially. Still, she will be at every court session, no matter how many more there are.

"I can't let this guy go," she said Friday. "He's young. He'll do it again. I want to get this over. The rights of the victim are not enforced like the rights of the defendant are. They get the right to a speedy trial but the victim just gets strung along."

Candy Limmer, program director of the AFRC's domestic violence and sexual assault program, has helped the victim work through her depression. Limmer was in court Friday to offer her support.

"She's a hero," Limmer said, "because she's been here at each court hearing for almost two years to see justice is done. She's sacrificed so much."

Limmer said it's no wonder that a "very small" percentage of rape victims report the crime.

Beshaw originally was charged with nine felonies, including two counts of first-degree sexual assault and two counts of kidnapping. He allegedly raped two Palmer women in September 2001.

However, all the charges except one count of first-degree sexual assault were dropped in exchange for Beshaw's no contest plea. The crime carries a presumptive eight-year prison term, which a parole board can't shorten.