TWO SENTENCES FOR POT, ASSAULT CREATE DEBATE

One Durango man sexually assaulted three children. Another cultivated and
distributed marijuana. The drug cultivator got three years in prison; the
child molester got 90 days in jail.

"How is it that a man who fondles ... three small children receives a
90-day jail sentence, and a man who is found with marijuana plants receives
a three-year jail sentence?" asked Casey Eberle, a 28-year- old Fort Lewis
College mass communications student, in a letter to The Durango Herald editor.

"This sends the message that destroying the souls of several small children
is less offensive in the eyes of the court than cultivating plants," she wrote.

Several others have expressed the same sentiment about the two court cases
that ended last month.

Arthur Jerome Mueller, 62, pleaded guilty Feb. 8 to one count of sexual
assault on a child after signing a plea agreement with the District
Attorney's Office. He was sentenced to 90 days in jail, will be on
probation for 10 years to life, must pay restitution to his victims and
register with the state as a sex offender.

According to the plea agreement, Mueller fondled the genitals and genital
areas of three children, all younger than 10, between July 15, 1999, and
Aug. 15, 1999, in La Plata County.

Edward Moenius, 51, was found guilty by jury trial in October of
cultivating, distributing and possessing more than 8 ounces of marijuana.
On Feb. 8, he was sentenced to three years in prison and mandatory parole.

The Sheriff's Office said it seized $26,000 worth of marijuana, $1,681 in
cash and a large amount of growing equipment at Moenius' residence in the
43000 block of U.S. Highway 550, a few miles north of Tamarron.

Assistant District Attorney Craig Westberg, who prosecuted both cases, said
he can understand the public's outcry over the differing sentences but
believes both criminals received what they deserved.

"Justice is not simple, and it is often not easy to achieve," Westberg
wrote in a letter to the editor. "In most cases, including these, the
system, considering the circumstances, worked well."

Sexual assault cases are often difficult to prosecute, especially when
small children are involved, he said. In Mueller's case, the victims'
parents did not want the children to testify at trial, and Westberg
respected their decisions, he said.

There is always a risk of putting children on the stand and getting a
not-guilty verdict, which only complicates matters for the children, he said.

"(The District Attorney's Office) hates talking to the kids at all,"
Westberg said. "I've gone straight up to children and jumped into (sexual
assault allegations), and it is very uncomfortable."

Instead, Westberg said he prefers to strike a deal with the defense as long
as it is acceptable to the parents and it ensures the public will be
protected from the perpetrator. The District Attorney's Office also has to
consider whether it has a good chance of winning a case, he said.

Mueller will be under strict probation for at least 10 years, and likely
for the rest of his life, said Westberg, adding that Colorado has one of
the better sexual-offender programs in the nation.

Mueller has already been forced to move to another house because he lived
near an elementary school and day-care center, Westberg said. Mueller will
also have to submit to polygraph tests that will go into great detail about
his actions and fantasies.

Efforts to reach Charles Schwaebe, who monitors sexual offenders on
probation in the 6th Judicial District, for further comment were
unsuccessful last week.

There cannot be uniform sentencing for sex offenders because there is a
wide variety of sexual offenders, Westberg said. Some are convicted because
they are 19 and had sexual relations with a 15-year-old. Then there are
violent offenders and those who abuse children, he said.

"We try to address these people as uniformly as we can, however, we can't
always do that," Westberg said.

As for Moenius' case, he was given a three-year sentence for cultivating
marijuana because he had been convicted of a violent crime and had two
felonies, Westberg said.

Moenius also had a sophisticated growing operation that included a starting
room, a cutting room and a cloning room, where branches from adult plants
were cut and encouraged to take root without growing from seed. He had been
growing and selling for a long time, Westberg said.

"I don't believe that the community is going to miss this man," he said.

As for Moenius, he wrote in a letter to The Durango Herald saying that
Westberg is misleading the public by portraying him as a drug dealer and
violent criminal.

"I was never convicted of selling any quantity of pot," he said. "There
were 13 plants intended strictly for personal use."

Moenius went on to write that he has not been convicted of a violent crime
in five years, and that no crime could be more violent than sexually
assaulting three children.

His domestic partner, Sally Hoff, said Westberg needs to re-examine his
definition of fair when it comes to justice.

"Justice was not achieved in either of these cases, and the system,
considering the true circumstances, did not work well," she wrote in a letter.

Chief District Judge Gregory Lyman, who sentenced both Moenius and Mueller,
said he couldn't talk about specifics in either of the cases because of
ethical reasons, but can appreciate the public's reaction.

On the surface, the two sentences are hard to understand, but people have
to read past the headlines, he said.

"I'm very happy that people are paying attention to those things," Lyman
said. "It is very healthy, and they should continue to pay attention to
those things."