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	How the Child-Abusing Cantor Avoided Time in Prison An Appeal That Gutted the Case and the Victim's Reluctance to Press on Were Key, a Judge Says By Keith Herbert Philadelphia Inquirer September 27, 2006 http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/local/states/pennsylvania/15616301.htm A Republican former prosecutor, Montgomery County Court Judge Paul W. Tressler doesn't have a reputation for being soft on criminals. But in a high-profile case that concluded last week, Tressler gave probation, not jail, to a New York City cantor who pleaded to charges of sexually abusing his nephew for years. The judge and the District Attorney's Office say the sentence was the culmination of an earlier appellate court ruling, which gutted the prosecutor's case, and the desire of the victim to end the legal ordeal, which had dragged on for years. "I have no doubt that I followed the law, which is the job of the judge, and not to let emotion become part of the equation," Tressler said yesterday. Tressler sentenced Cantor Howard Nevison to 12 years of probation but spared him a prison term. Nevison was charged with abusing his nephew during a four-year period in the 1990s at the boy's Main Line home. The assaults occurred when the child was between 3 and 7 years old. In June, Nevison pleaded guilty to indecent assault, simple assault, terroristic threats, corruption of minors and endangering children. The charges are misdemeanors. Yesterday, Tressler spoke about the Nevison case in his empty, fifth-floor courtroom. When Nevison, 65, was in the same courtroom last week, it was packed with dozens of Nevison's supporters, including the elder rabbi of Temple Emanu-El, the Manhattan synagogue where Nevison was cantor. A felony charge of involuntary deviant sexual intercourse had been dropped by prosecutors as part of a plea agreement with Nevison, Tressler said. Punishable by up to 20 years in prison, the most serious charge against Nevison was not before him at time of sentencing, the judge said. An earlier appeals court ruling had prevented prosecutors from using the testimony of Nevison's two brothers, who alleged that Nevison molested them 40 years ago. Prosecutors had wanted to introduce the evidence from the brothers to show "a common scheme" by Nevison to molest family members. Tressler agreed with prosecutors that the brothers' testimony should have been allowed as prosecution evidence, but was overruled by the higher court. "There was a pivotal ruling in the case that made it extremely difficult, if not impossible, for the D.A. to prosecute the felony," Tressler said. While First Assistant District Attorney Risa V. Ferman acknowledged this week that the Superior Court ruling weakened the prosecution's case, her office was prepared to go to trial. But then the victim in the case, Nevison's nephew, now 17, wanted to end the case, which meant no more testifying in open court about what his uncle did to him, Ferman said. "I know it's something the District Attorney thought about for a long time and was not completely comfortable with," Ferman said. The plea agreement "didn't give a child molester a pass, but it allows the 17-year-old man to get on with his life." Nevison entered an Alford plea, in which defendants do not admit to the prosecution's allegations but acknowledge the likelihood of a conviction at trial. Tressler's sentence of probation was in the low end of the state's sentencing guidelines, which give judges ranges of penalties depending on a defendant's prior record and gravity of the offense. The standard-range sentence could have included up to six months in jail. But Tressler said he was reluctant to give Nevison jail because the cantor is 65, suffers from diabetes, and had a "spotless" record. Also, Tressler said, psychiatrists for both the defense and prosecution found that Nevison was not a pedophile. "I think the D.A.'s office prosecuted the case as well as it could in light of the appellate ruling," Tressler said. Victims in child sexual abuse cases are often reluctant to testify in open court, with an abuser sitting only a few feet away, said Chris Kirchner, executive director of Children's Alliance of Philadelphia, an advocacy group dedicated to improving child-abuse investigations. "We put a heavy, heavy burden on children when it comes to allegations of sexual abuse," Kirchner said. "I understand the criminal justice system, but I think as a society we minimize the effects of sexual abuse and it shows up in our courts." No one wants to talk about sexual abuse of children, and because of that, "We're not outraged," Kirchner said. Contact staff writer Keith Herbert at 610-313-8007 or keithherbert@phillynews.com.
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