Former sheriff's deputy Alfred "Chip" Huskey admitted having sex with the teenage daughter of his ex-wife on the living room floor of the Ceres home he shared with a woman who supervises probationers in Stanislaus County. For that, he recently was sentenced to a year in county jail.
The victim, now 27, told authorities Huskey molested her from ages 3 to 11, when Huskey was married to her mother and lived in their Riverbank home. She alleged that Huskey, 47, didn't go "all the way" until a few years later, when she and a younger brother had a slumber party in Huskey's new home.
The woman's story came out years after the alleged incidents as she struggled to overcome drug addiction, according to court records, and she was unable to pinpoint the date of the sexual encounter or her age at the time.
In a phone call that was recorded by detectives, the woman recalled the sexual encounter and inappropriate rubbing by Huskey when she was 3 or 4. In return, Huskey talked about an unhappy marriage that prompted him to drink too much and use methamphetamine.
Huskey also encouraged the woman to call him if she needed to talk, saying he would get in trouble if she shared her memories with counselors, who have a duty to report allegations of abuse, according to a tape and transcript of the conversation, both of which were provided by the woman.
"I would get arrested, go to jail, most likely go to prison," Huskey said.
That conversation gave prosecutors enough corroboration to take a case that was more than a decade old to trial, and Huskey did go to jail. Some courthouse insiders in Modesto still think the former jailer got a sweetheart deal, particularly because Huskey need not register as a sex offender.
"It sure smells," said defense attorney Martha Carlton-Magaña. "I have a guy who is doing six years in prison for doing a lot less -- sentenced by the same judge, prosecuted by the same district attorney."
Said defense attorney Mary Lynn Belsher: "I would like the district attorney's office to explain to the public why an ex-deputy gets a better sentence, and gets out from under the lifetime burden of sex registration, when others who are younger and did less will have that burden."
Deal was rare, attorneys say
Most lawyers readily agree that criminal cases rise or fall on their own merits, with the stiffest sentences handed down when the authorities have strong corroborating evidence, a particularly vulnerable victim or a defendant's admission of guilt.
For example, a Ceres man who videotaped himself performing sex acts with two children was sentenced to 45 years to life in prison. A Riverbank man got 10 years in prison for molesting several girls he met at church. A Modesto man got six years for molesting a teen who lived in his home.
Although a wide spectrum of outcomes is expected, defense attorneys said it is rare for prosecutors to offer a deal that does not require registration, which is mandatory for most sex crimes.
"They typically hand out some pretty meaty sentences," said attorney Frank Carson, who recently represented a Modesto man who got three years in prison for an incident that happened in July 1996. His client touched an 11-year-old girl's breast while using drugs with other adults in her home.
According to a review of official records, 11 men have been convicted of sex crimes involving minors in Stanislaus County Superior Court since January. Huskey is the sole defendant who has not been required to register as a sex offender.
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