Chapter 3
Sondra's lawyer Dan Rivers sat beside her while the prosecutor played the
evidence tape the police made when they arrested her. He played the first
surveillance tape next. Sondra watched her image on the screen, undressing Ted
for the first time, sinking to her knees in front of him, making love to him
with her mouth until he was erect, leading him to the bed.
"We have enough between the tapes, what the arresting officers observed and the
guy's testimony to convict," the prosecutor said without emotion. "You've seen
the other tapes and read the depositions, counselor. I'll win convictions on
every count if you go to trial. That's at least fifty years without parole." He
looked at Sondra, smiled at the shock and terror she was unable to hide and
turned to Rivers. Sondra's head spun at the thought that she'd be ninety before
she was released!
"Or" he continued "you can make it easy on all of us and the Senator by
pleading. I'll accept a guilty plea on twelve counts of oral copulation,
perverted sexual practice and adultery. I'll recommend that the judge sentence
give her minimum prison time in a control program for sexual offenders. I doubt
he'll give her more than twenty years. She'll be required her to submit to
sexual negation, of course."
Sondra had heard of sexual negation but knew practically nothing about it. She
looked quizzically at Rivers, who nodded at the prosecutor, patted the back of
Sondra's hand and thought about the clean, untraceable money that would appear
in his offshore account as soon as Sondra was disposed of.
"Make up your minds. The deal's only good for five minutes." He walked out of
the room. Sondra's composure broke when the door closed behind him.
"My God!" she wailed. "Is he telling the truth?"
"You'll get at least twice that much time if we go to trial," Rivers replied.
"He'll stack the jury with religious-fanatic wives and fundamentalists. They'll
crucify you."
"I can't spend the rest of my life in prison," she said quietly. "What does
negation involve?"
"They started the program seven or eight years ago to rehabilitate female sexual
deviants. Now it's applied to every female sexual offender. I'll get all the
details for you." He squeezed her hand reassuringly. "The plea bargain's a good
deal. I strongly advise you to accept it." Sondra nodded. Whatever negation was,
it had to be better than fifty years in prison.
The prosecutor returned with the typed plea bargain, dropped it on the table in
front of Sondra and gave her a pen. She signed it and handed it back to him. He
left without a word.
Her court appearance took less than fifteen minutes. The judge read the plea
agreement and asked Rivers and the prosecutor if they agreed to the terms and
conditions as stated. They replied that they did. The judge asked Sondra if she
had agreed to plead of her own free will. She nodded. He signed the agreement,
summoned Sondra to the bench and pronounced sentence.
"The court accepts your guilty plea and hereby sentence you to forty years
without possibility of parole in a minimum security prison, with twenty years
suspended. You will wear a band on your right wrist identifying your conviction
as sex offender. You will submit to sexual negation. If at any time it is
determined that you have violated the negation order by removing the device,
tampering with it or disabling it, or if it is determined that the device is not
capable of performing its function, you will be immediately incarcerated in a
maximum security prison for the remainder of your sentence. You will submit to
periodic monitoring and any other activities or procedures required by the
Bureau of Prisons. Do you have any questions?" Sondra shook her head. She had no
choice but to accept her sentence despite not understanding precisely what it
involved.
The judge cleared this throat. "You are remanded to the custody of the marshals
service." Two marshals put a belly chain around her waist, cuffed her hands to
it, shackled her, locked a short chain between her cuffs and shackles and
escorted her from the courtroom. Sondra did her best to walk in the chains that
threatened to trip her with every step. Rather than leading her through the rear
entrance, they escorted her through the main entrance and slowly down a flight
of steps to a broad, sunlit landing where her husband waited with a large cadre
of reporters he'd invited. One marshal stood behind her with his hand on her
shoulder. The other stood at her left, holding her arm. The tableau had the
desired effect. She looked like a dangerous criminal. Her husband took his place
at her right, staring at her with an expression of solemn sorrow designed to
appeal to his constituents. He gave the cameramen as much time as they wanted to
get footage of him standing beside his wife. The warm breeze lifted her skirt
almost to her waist at one point. Every cameraman recorded a view of her white
panties. A Washington Post reporter asked if he had any comments on his wife's
sentence. The Senator began his short, well-practiced speech.
"I was shocked and saddened when I learned that Mrs. O'Connor had repeatedly
violated my trust and her sacred marriage vows. We've been married for over ten
years. I still love her deeply. My personal grief and profound loss
notwithstanding, I understand that she must pay her debt to society. The moral
fabric of our great democracy depends on every citizen obeying the laws of our
land. While her loss will affect every facet of my life, I recognize that only
by serving her sentence can my wife be rehabilitated and restored to a
productive place in society. Thank you and God bless America." He took her chin
in his hand, turned her face toward his, bent and kissed her lips. The cameras
caught every nuance of their last contact, complete with the tears she was
unable to wipe away.
