BANGOR — The Maine Supreme Judicial Court on Tuesday considered whether one man convicted on sex charges should get a new trial and whether another convicted in federal court for possessing child pornography was charged illegally in state court.
On Tuesday afternoon, the justices considered whether Wade Robert Hoover, 37, of Augusta should not have been indicted by a Kennebec County grand jury on a dozen counts of gross sexual assault.
Hoover was sentenced in July 2013 by U.S. District Judge John Woodcock to 40 years in federal prison on one count each of production of child pornography and possession of child pornography
Hoover pleaded guilty to the federal charges in February 2013, when he admitted he sexually assaulted two boys under the age of 12 who took karate lessons from him at his Lewiston studio and recorded the assaults. He did not share the images on the Internet, according to court documents.
“It is hard for me to find words to describe your conduct in this case because your conduct is simply unspeakable,” Woodcock said in imposing the sentence. “Not only did you violate the law; you violated the most basic moral code in society. You preyed upon young boys when they were vulnerable.”
Hoover’s attorney, Jamesa J. Drake of Auburn, argued Tuesday the indictments in state court violate his constitutional protections against double jeopardy because state and federal prosecutors “colluded” in how Hoover originally was charged. Drake said Hoover was held for two months on lesser charges than gross sexual assault, a Class A crime.
When he was charged in federal court, those charges were dismissed, the attorney said. Hoover was indicted in March 2013 and on additional charges in June 2013 for gross sexual assault on the boys he photographed after pleaded guilty in federal court. Drake also argued Woodcock sentenced Hoover in federal court for conduct the state charged him with later.
Maeghan Maloney, district attorney for Kennebec and Somerset counties, told the justices Hoover was arrested in the interest of public safety and the intent always was to charge him with gross sexual assault.
“We needed to continue investigating to be able to take that evidence to the grand jury,” she said.
The justices pointed out that defendants often face different federal and state charges for the same conduct.
Maloney said Hoover is being held at the Kennebec County Jail without bail awaiting the outcome of his appeal. He has pleaded not guilty to the state charges.
Erik L. Vultee of Rockport did not receive a fair trial last year, which led to his conviction for sexually assaulting a young girl, a criminal defense lawyer from Boston told the justices, who convened at the Penobscot Judicial Center.
Attorney R. Bradford Bailey said Tuesday morning prosecution witnesses were allowed to provide hearsay testimony about what the victim said to them, which should not have been admitted as evidence against Vultee. Bailey also was critical of the strategy used by Vultee’s attorney at trial, Steven Peterson.
Vultee, 45, was sentenced in August 2014 to serve 14 years in prison after being convicted on 10 counts of unlawful sexual contact, as well as single counts of attempted gross sexual assault, visual aggression against a child, sexual misconduct with a child and unlawful sexual touching.
Bailey said he had been hired by Vultee but couldn’t represent him during the trial because he was handling a federal racketeering trial at the same time.
The justices Tuesday questioned whether the appeal was the proper route for Vultee. Instead, justices asked Bailey whether there should be a post-conviction review based on ineffective counsel. The justices also suggested the trial attorney’s strategy may have been to show the victim in the case made contradictory statements and that not contesting the witnesses’ testimony was a way to show off those contradictions.
District Attorney Geoffrey Rushlau told the justices there was substantial evidence that led to the convictions and said he saw no obvious error at trial.
Testimony during the trial showed the offenses occurred from 2009 through 2011 at Vultee’s home, where Vultee was watching the child for the girl’s mother. The girl, who was 8 years old when she said the assaults started, reported the abuse in 2012 to a family friend.
There is no timetable under which the justices must issue written decisions in either case.
Justices will hear more appeals in Bangor on Wednesday and Thursday.
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