Rapist sentenced to 45 years in prison

A California man who pleaded guilty to raping a Fortine woman last October was sentenced Monday to 45 years in prison.

Dwayne Roshell Bailey, 41, pleaded guilty in March to sexual intercourse without consent. The sentence he received is in accordance with a plea agreement that also included the dismissal of additional charges of failure to register as a sexual and violent offender.

The maximum sentence for sexual intercourse without consent is 100 years. With a 45-year-sentence, Bailey will be eligible for parole in 11 years, three months.

Bailey was initially scheduled to be sentenced on May 23. Sentencing was postponed for two weeks after Bailey expressed concerns with information contained in a pre-sentence report and a psycho-sexual evaluation.

On Monday, Bailey shared his concerns with Judge Michael Prezeau. He said he felt the psycho-sexual evaluation included contradictory statements about his honesty and whether or not he was remorseful about the crime. He said he has studied the evaluation but still doesn't understand it.

"I've had time to sit back and read it, because I have nothing but time," he said.

Bailey also expressed concerns about the pre-sentence report's recommendations that he be required to begin paying restitution to the victim for medical expenses within 30 days of his release from incarceration and that he undergo a chemical dependency evaluation and possibly treatment. Bailey said he didn't know if he would be able to make payments so soon after his release and that he has never had a drug problem, although he acknowledged two arrests for driving under the influence of alcohol. During time he spent on probation, he only tested positive for alcohol once and never for drugs, he said.

"The drug situation for me is a non-issue," he said.

Bailey's attorney, Ann German, explained to him that the chemical dependency evaluation covers alcohol as well as drugs.

German said she thought the most significant concern Bailey had shared with her was the recommendation that he be designated a level 3 offender, meaning there is a high likelihood that he will re-offend.

German suggested that specific recommendations contained in the psycho-sexual evaluation, such as restricting Bailey's access to minors and pornography, be left up to the person who provides his sex offender counseling while incarcerated.

In sentencing Bailey, Prezeau followed a condition of the plea agreement allowing Bailey to apply for transfer to a prison in California. Officials there would have to accept his request before he could be transferred. German noted that Bailey's family connections are in California and that he has spent most of his life there.

Prezeau specified in the sentence that Bailey will not be eligible for parole until he completes sex offender treatment. Bailey will also be required to submit to a chemical dependency evaluation and to pay restitution upon his release as recommended in the pre-sentence report, and he will be designated a level 3 offender. Other recommended conditions were left out of the sentence.

"I'll let the parole board worry about that," Prezeau said.

Bailey was arrested in the early morning hours of Saturday, Oct. 9, not far from the residence of the woman who reported that he had raped her. The woman told investigating officers that a man she later identified as Bailey had knocked on her door and asked for help, claiming that he was having vehicle problems. The woman told the officers that when she let Bailey into her home to warm up and contact someone for assistance he attacked her and raped her while strangling her. The woman fled the scene on foot before reporting the incident.

Border Patrol agents who responded to assist in the search for the suspect found Bailey a short distance from the woman's home.

Bailey had been arrested the previous month after a man reported the theft of a handgun from his car while he was fishing at a northern Lincoln County lake. A deputy responding to the call spoke with three other people at the scene who told him they had seen Bailey with a gun matching the description of the one the man had reported stolen. According to an affidavit filed by the arresting officer in justice court, Bailey initially provided a false name and date of birth. He was charged with criminal trespass to a vehicle, theft, possession of a firearm by a felon, failure to register as a sexual offender and obstructing a peace officer. The stolen gun was not recovered.

All the charges stemming from the incident, except for the obstructing charge, were later dismissed due to lack of evidence. Bailey pleaded guilty to the obstructing charge and was sentenced to six months in jail with the sentence suspended except for time served. He was ordered to register as a sexual offender for previous convictions in California if he remained in the area after Oct. 1.