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Man Sentenced For Crime At Local Nursing Home
By Nikolaus Olsen, The Coloradoan
July 2, 2004
A man found guilty of walking into a Fort Collins nursing home, undressing a 90-year-old woman and fondling her is likely to be sentenced to four years in prison.
Ricky Lee Dougherty, 40, was given a three-year sentence for his crimes Thursday by District Court Judge Terence Gilmore. But an unusual sequence of events that occurred following the hearing is expected to add another year to his sentence.
A new law passed by the state Legislature removes the crimes for which Dougherty was convicted from a list of "extraordinary crimes," lowering the maximum sentence Gilmore could hand down.
The court was under the impression the law took effect Thursday, along with several other new laws. But after the proceedings, an employee of the District Attorney's Office discovered language in the bill stating that it did not take effect until Aug. 4.
Gilmore is expected to sentence Dougherty to the maximum four years during a follow-up hearing later this month.
A jury found Dougherty guilty of touching the woman and viewing her naked body May 5. She died a few weeks after the Oct. 4 incident.
"I can only hope in the future you deal with the issues you must address," Gilmore told Dougherty. "You will someday be released. If you cannot deal with your issues, the only place for you is to be incarcerated."
The victim's eldest daughter, Martha McNeal, said Dougherty robbed her mother of her dignity and sense of trust in the last days of her life.
"It was a despicable, vile act that seemed to take the life out of her," McNeal told the court, adding that her mother was angry with herself for what happened.
When McNeal found out Dougherty likely will get a longer sentence, she said she was happy but still questioned the Legislature's actions.
"I can't understand why they would loosen sentences when they should be tightening them," McNeal said.
A psychological evaluation of Dougherty's sexual behavior presented to the court stated he has preoccupation with exhibitionist sexual acts and has strong tendencies for pedophilia.
Dougherty, who sat in the courtroom in handcuffs wearing an orange jail jumpsuit, had failed to complete counseling ordered after a 1999 offense at Poudre Valley Hospital.
In that case, Dougherty was convicted of touching himself inappropriately in the presence of an elderly woman at the hospital.
Gilmore also noted that Dougherty killed a Cheyenne, Wyo., convenience store clerk in 1979 by shooting him at point-blank range during a robbery.
Gilmore said Dougherty feels no need to conform to social norms.
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