 Introducing "Producer's Notebook," an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look at the stories that are making headlines from the unique perspective of a Factor producer. Check back in the coming weeks for more inside reports on Factor stories.
Showdown time in Vermont: Judge Edward Cashman had agreed to reconsider his sentence of 60 days for convicted sex predator Mark Hulett. And I was there again for The Factor.
Even though it was six in the morning and the courthouse doors would not open until 8, I was there early in order to beat the expected crowd.
Only one other car was in the lot. Inside was a short, thin woman with curly hair in her early 40's. Her car engine was running. She opened the passenger-side door, said she was Jessica, an editor from the Burlington Free Press, and invited me in to sit with her and stay warm.
I told her I was from The O'Reilly Factor. "Why is Bill O'Reilly treating Vermont like he is?" she asked me in an argumentative manner. I decided not to debate her, since she was letting me keep warm in her car. A minute later, her paper's crime reporter, Adam Silverman, walked up. I got out and shook hands. Silverman was in his late 20's, and this was his first job after college. We went for a cup of coffee, and by the time we came back, more press people had arrived.
AP reporter Wilson Ring introduced himself. The AP had run up against The Factor ever since their Vermont bureau chief Christopher Graff wrote a sympathetic profile of Judge Cashman. O'Reilly had invited Graff and Ring on the show, but both had declined. Ring had a weathered look to him, wore a coat and tie, and appeared to be in his late 40's.
The courthouse doors opened at 8am. About a dozen local reporters and I flowed through the metal detectors and upstairs to the courtroom. But, as The Factor had noted since this story surfaced, no reporters from any network news or national cable news outlets were there.
The courtroom was new and clean, with grey carpet, white walls and eight rows of polished light wood benches for family members, witnesses and media. Several armed officers lined the room. I sat behind the first two rows, which were reserved for family members. Burlington Free Press reporter Sam Hemingway was sitting next to me and wanted to talk. He was a very tall, soft-spoken man with a mustache and a worn tweed blazer. Trying to nudge me into giving him a quote, he said people close to the case were "upset" with O'Reilly's aggressive reporting and "wanted to know what my response was." I told him to call Fox News in New York for a comment. He got up and changed seats.
The family of the little girl soon began to shuffle in and sit in the reserved rows. The victim's mother and grandmother sat in the first row behind the prosecution table. The mother didn't dress up for the hearing, wearing casual clothing instead with no makeup. Her husband, the victim's stepfather, was a man with dark and closely cropped hair in jeans and a black t-shirt--he didn't sit next to his wife. He took off his coat and sat in the row behind her instead. About ten friends, family and supporters surrounded them in the first two rows. No one else approached them.
Mark Hulett, the convicted sex offender, walked into the courtroom 40 minutes later. Head down and shoulders slumped, he sunk into his seat at the defense table. He wore a dark blue jail uniform and his hands were cuffed. His brown ponytail was pulled back tight and his pointed beard jutted out from his chin like a Hell's Angel. Strong and thick-set, Hulett turned and checked out who was seated in the courtroom behind him. I looked him in the eye and he looked away. The room was filled with about 70 people.
Judge Cashman entered the courtroom at 9:15am. He is bald, round and pale, with a short white beard and thick glasses. "All rise!" said the clerk. After some initial testimony from a staffer at the Department of Corrections, State Attorney Bob Simpson stood up and made his case that Cashman's initial 60-day sentence was "illegal." His voice was very soft, but he was very compelling and everyone in the room was completely attentive. "He stole her life," said Simpson. "This court is hostile to punishment," he charged, addressing the judge himself. Cashman looked at the family and back at the prosecutor, but kept his silence. Punishment that fits the crime "sends the message that certain things won't be tolerated in this society." Hulett seemed to feign disinterest and even stifled a yawn while Simpson spoke.
Defense attorney Mark Kaplan then spoke. While Kaplan was making his argument, Cashman took sips of water, his eyes wandered and he often looked at the victim's family. I noticed Hulett looking at the mother at one point, but couldn't see if she was looking back. Hulett's attorney said, "The court doesn't have an obligation to punish someone." The family shifted in their seats. They stretched and fidgeted, and the mother turned back to the stepfather; they just rolled their eyes and shook their heads.
When the defense rested, the prosecution asked the judge if they could respond briefly. Bob Simpson stood again and said "just desserts," "punishment" or "retribution" isn't just embraced by "the rabble." Punishment isn't "barbaric." It's "the core of our system, our tradition, and our constitution."
Judge Cashman then pulled out a sheet of paper and began to read a prepared statement. "
The Department of Corrections has now offered a sentencing option in this case that includes sex offender treatment during imprisonment [
] Mark Hulett shall serve a term of imprisonment [
] of not less than three years and no more than ten years." He didn't address the storm of controversy his initial sentence had created and said nothing to the family in the courtroom.
The observers packing the courtroom started buzzing, and reporters began to run out to the hallway to make calls and file their stories. The defense asked for a recess so they could ask Hulett if he'd accept the sentence, or if he wanted to withdraw his guilty plea and go to trial. As people moved out, the parents looked dazed, and I don't think they completely understood what was happening. They and the prosecution team went into a private room. The defense and Hulett walked out a guarded side door. Other reporters and I talked out in the hallway about how Cashman appeared to have made up his mind before the hearing since he'd read from a prepared text. Even the tougher sentence imposed by Cashman would hardly send Hulett away for a long time. Adam Silverman from the Burlington Free Press explained to me that if Hulett stayed out of trouble and completed in-prison sex offender treatment, he'd probably be out in just three years. But would Hulett even accept the new sentence?
Fifteen minutes later, we were called back inside. Defense attorney Mark Kaplan said Hulett had agreed to the newly imposed jail term. I immediately Blackberried the news to Factor producers in New York. The victim's relatives hugged. The case was finally over.
The family left the courtroom first. They did not speak to the press and did not want to be on camera. The prosecution team came out next. State Attorney Bob Simpson said he was "satisfied" with the sentence, although he would have preferred at least eight years. Simpson said the victim's family was "pleased" with the decision. Defense attorney Mark Kaplan told the press that he thought the sentence was "fair." I invited him to be on The Factor, but he declined.
Over an hour later, I heard from Bill O'Reilly who had decided to follow up with Mark Kaplan. He told me to find him and get some more answers. I drove to his office three blocks away, parked outside and took the elevator up to his suite. His secretary asked if I had an appointment, and I said no. Kaplan was talking to a partner in an office within earshot. He walked over and told me to leave. But then he changed his mind and reluctantly agreed to sit down with me. "I'm not a big fan of your boss," he said as we entered an empty conference room. We sat down and I asked him if he was "proud" to have gotten a convicted child molester off with only three years. He said it was an "honor" for him to represent Hulett. "Do you feel guilty at all for what you did?" I questioned him. "Not at all," he said.
Next, another try at getting to Cashman. After talking to Kaplan, I drove to the judge's home and parked outside. About 45 minutes later, a car pulled towards the house with Cashman inside. I hustled out of the car, but Cashman was already headed towards the door. "Why did you give him only three years!?" I yelled. "It still seems pretty light!" He quickly ducked inside and slammed the door shut. The case may be over for Judge Cashman, but calls for his resignation continue to echo in the halls of the state house.
One final detail: Derek Kimball, the other man accused along with Hulett of molesting the little girl, has a hearing on February 17th.
The Factor will continue its reporting.
Jesse Watters has been a producer for The OReilly Factor since 2003. Before joining Fox News, Watters worked on political campaigns and in finance. He received a B.A. in History from Trinity College (Hartford, CT) in 2001. Watters was born and raised in Philadelphia and moved to New York in 1995.
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