Sex Offender’s Request For Leniency Denied

A judge has denied a convicted sex offender’s request for a reduced sentence, despite glowing letters of recommendation and a positive psychological exam.

Dennis Stoddard, 53, of Kellogg, was convicted last March of sexually molesting a 13-year-old boy over a period of a year while dating the boy’s mother. They were introduced in church.

Stoddard was sentenced to a minimum of five and a maximum of 20 years in the state penitentiary, after a plea agreement that reduced the charges against him.

After the original charge, Stoddard supplied the court with character references and letters of commendation signed earlier by then-president George Bush, U.S. Sen. James McClure, and retired U.S. Ambassador Keith Nyborg.

Clinical psychologist Jack Oakwright testified in January that Stoddard would be a good risk for a reduced sentence.

But District Court Judge Craig Kosonen said Stoddard’s “total lack of remorse” and “grandiose sense of self-worth” indicated otherwise.”Kosonen’s opinion, issued last week, also cited complaints from church, Boy Scout groups, and neighbors regarding Stoddard’s conduct in the past.”Though this is the first time he’s been charged, it’s obviously a longstanding problem,” Kosonen said.