RIPLEY, W.Va. — The shot heard around West Virginia this election season had its origins in a Sept. 5, 2011, police call in Jackson County.
Sgt. Todd Roberts and Deputy Camron Saltsgaver were responding to a report of an out-of-control juvenile. By the time they arrived, the teen had calmed down. But he had been in trouble with the law before, so the officers decided they had cause to arrest him.
As they prepared to leave, the boy bent down to lace his boots. Then he looked up at Roberts and said, “I’ve been raped.”
The teen’s statement set off an investigation that was followed by the arrest and sentencing of Cecil Hinzman, a Sandyville resident who was well known for providing chores and favors for other community members and for volunteering for local Republican Party efforts.
West Virginians all over the state have now heard the most basic description of this case because one person testified to Hinzman’s character at his sentencing: Mitch Carmichael, who is now the state Senate majority leader.
A union- and trial lawyer-backed political action committee, West Virginia Family Values has pumped millions of dollars into advertisements spotlighting Carmichael’s testimony and his description of Hinzman.
“Their leader in the Senate, he testified in court on behalf of a convicted child molester. Called this sexual predator — quote — trustworthy.”
Because Carmichael has a leadership position in the Senate, West Virginia Family Values has also tried to tie his testimony to other Republican senators up for re-election, so versions of the ad have run all over the state.
Republicans have an 18-16 majority in the Senate that they want to keep. Democrats — and the trial lawyers and unions that largely support their campaigns — want to regain the majority.
The advertisement is the focus of a lawsuit by state Senator Chris Walters, a Republican who represents parts of Kanawha and Putnam counties and who claims the advertisement depicts him as dangerous to children.
“We stand by the ad,” said Lou Ann Johnson, political director for West Virginia Family Values.
“It was clear to us that we’re talking about their leader in the Senate. We didn’t mention Mitch by name. But we feel like that’s a relevant question to ask the Republican candidates who are running with him. If they prevail he may end up being Senate president, lieutenant governor.”
Johnson went on to describe the question this way, “Walking into a courtroom to testify on behalf of a convicted child molester — is it acceptable? Is that something you support, or not?”
Carmichael released a statement describing his side of the issue. He says West Virginia Family Values has tried to distort and mislead voters about what happened: “I have repeatedly stated that crimes against children, especially of a sexual nature, are abhorrent,” Carmichael stated.
Carmichael said he was walking out of church one morning three years ago when he received a call on his cell phone. He said the caller was George Cosenza, the lawyer for Cecil Hinzman, asking him if he would testify on Hinzman’s behalf. Carmichael said he did not previously know Cosenza.
In a Wednesday interview, Carmichael recounted his version of their conversation: “He says, ‘This is George Cosenza. I’m working on this case, and do you know a Cecil Hinzman? I need you to come to the court and tell you how you know him.'”
Carmichael says he replied, “I’ll tell you how I know him but that’s the extent of it.”
Last week, Carmichael also released a statement from Cosenza:
“Senator Carmichael complied with my request to provide testimony as to how he knew defendant, Cecil Hinzman. He did not seek or volunteer to testify. Senator Carmichael honored my request by telling the truth. In no way did Senator Carmichael defend the actions of Mr. Hinzman. He answered forthrightly and truthfully as to his very limited knowledge of the defendant.”
Without being given much context, West Virginian voters are being asked to decide whether Carmichael was complying with a civic duty or whether he made a misjudgment that he might now regret.
The case itself unfolded over several years and touches on the fabric of life in a small community, where people may place their trust in others without really knowing them well.
Hinzman, now 76 and serving time in the McDowell County Correctional Center, was away when police officers came with a warrant to search his home on Sept. 9, 2011. The officers forced open the front door.
Hinzman arrived by 6:35 p.m. According to police reports now on file at the Jackson County Courthouse, Hinzman defended himself by saying, “All I tried to do was help that boy.”
The deputies hauled away evidence including 22 digital photos, 11 VHS tapes, one pair of blue boys underwear, metal novelty handcuffs and a Compaq Presario computer tower.
The first teen to publicly accuse Hinzman — the one the police officers were starting to arrest in September, 2011 — said he had met the older man at a hunter safety course where Hinzman was an instructor. Hinzman started to pick the boy up after school and gave him rides because the family could not afford a babysitter.
A week before school started in 2011, Hinzman and the teen went together on a hunting trip to Pocahontas County. After that, the boy’s family noticed he stopped wanting to be around Hinzman.
During a Sept. 7, 2011, interview at the Child Advocacy Center at CAMC Women and Children’s Hospital, the boy was asked why he had decided to tell.
“I’m done. I don’t want to do it any more,” he responded.
When asked why he was there at the center, the teen stated it was because “I got raped and stuff.”
“By who?” the counselor asked.
“By Cecil.”
During the investigation, the teen’s little brother made similar allegations. Deputies also interviewed Hinzman’s own younger family members who said he had molested them, dating back to the early 1980s.
When deputies went to talk to Hinzman’s ex-wife, Betty, on Oct. 30, 2011, she said, “I was expecting that.” She said the reason for her divorce was “Cecil messing around with kids.”
“I know what I saw out of him, and he is very capable of doing that,” Betty Hinzman said.
By that Nov. 14, officers were ready to interview Hinzman himself. He denied ever having anything to do with “that boy or any other boy for that matter.” He said he had tried to help the young boys he was accused of molesting.
“I want them boys to be productive citizens.”
Hinzman went on to say, “There ain’t no way under your life or mine or anybody else’s on God’s green earth that I’d do anything to jeopardize those two boys. I love ’em and I’m not going to stand here and say I don’t.”
Then Hinzman asked, “What did them boys tell you about me? They love me, though. That I do know.”
A grand jury heard what investigators had gathered and in February, 2012, agreed Hinzman should be indicted on 12 counts of third-degree sexual assault, one count of first-degree sexual assault and eight counts of sexual abuse by a person of trust to a child.
He was arraigned on March 5, 2012, and awaited trial.
Hinzman was out on bond when another twist occurred. He was accused of molesting another teen. The very act of being alone with a juvenile was a violation of his bond.
In this case, the teen’s family had known Hinzman about three years. They had met on a day when Hinzman was trying to get a job.
As the family came to trust Hinzman, they eventually came to need his help. The prior spring, the teen had crashed the family vehicle. They wanted to buy a 2010 Chevy Impala but concluded the payments were too high. They called Hinzman from the car lot, and he agreed to put the car in his name. All they had to do was make the monthly payments to him.
The boy who was now accusing Hinzman said he had been afraid to come forward before because he thought Hinzman might take the car away.
“Hinzman was a good man, would give you anything in the world — until he did this to me,” the teen said during a Jan. 11, 2013, bond revocation hearing.
The case was nearing trial, and jury selection was actually under way on April 16, 2013, when lawyers for both sides announced a development that surprised even the judge.
Hinzman had decided to take an Alford plea, which meant he did not accept responsibility or admit guilt but he would take the punishment for three counts of third-degree sexual assault. There would be no trial.
Hinzman wanted to be sentenced to home confinement. Community members wrote letters to Jackson Circuit Judge Thomas Evans opposing Hinzman’s wish or in support of it.
“This man had violated his probation for the same reason for which he was indicted,” one community member wrote. “Does this sort of problem ever really stop?”
Another wrote, “We see him in town at the grocery store, and he is acting in his same loud and obnoxious manner. He shows no shame or guilt at all.”
The nine community members who wrote in support of Hinzman described knowing him for many years and expressed appreciation for favors he had done, such as sharing fresh vegetables from his garden. Several described trusting their children around him.
“Children genuinely like Cecil and they like being around him,” one wrote.
“Cecil has tried to help these young people by encouraging them to stay in school and be good citizens,” wrote another.
“Some people judge others because they are different. I always thought Cecil was a little eccentric,” a woman wrote. “So if he is guilty of anything, it is because he is a kind, loving and a very special person, which makes him a pretty good guy in my book.”
And another: “I believe Cecil Hinzman would do well on probation. I believe the saying, ‘No good deed goes unpunished’ applies in this particular case.”
On the day of sentencing, July 1, 2013, Judge Evans asked Hinzman’s lawyer, George Cosenza, if he had any evidence or another witness he would like to call to mitigate Hinzman’s case.
Cosenza said yes, “I’d like to call Mr. Carmichael.”
Carmichael took the stand and explained his job as an executive at Frontier Communications and his position in the state Senate, where, at the time, he had served for one year.
“How is that going for you, okay?” the judge asked.
“It’s great,” Carmichael said.
“Good. I’m glad,” Judge Evans responded. “Do you know Cecil Hinzman?”
“I do,” Carmichael said.
“How do you know him?”
Carmichael estimated knowing Hinzman about 20 years, mostly through political activities, events like ox roasts, Lincoln Day dinners and other community activities.
“Well, I will say that I have known Cecil to be extremely — from my vantage point — trustworthy, reliable, dependable in terms of assignments and tasks that he would take on or be involved with were always done, you know, very promptly, forthrightly, and with a high degree of competency,” Carmichael testified.
“Okay,” Judge Evans responded. “What about his character? Can you give the court some insight into that?”
“Well, from a character standpoint, I’ve seen him interact with lots of different people in and around the community, and have always noticed him being very, you know, cordial, friendly. And as I say, from my perspective, trustworthy.
“And, you know, I know the context of the — of why I’m here and what we’re talking about and so forth, and I just — you know, somebody that — accused of these type things, you seem to live their lives in the shadows, kind of, and not so available and ready to volunteer for different tasks and so forth. And it’s been my experience with Cecil that, you know, any time you contact him, he’s always ready, able to go, do the things that you would ask him to do or if he would be organized and involved with.”
When Carmichael’s comments ended, Judge Evans thanked him and conversationally noted that they had run for office in the same year, 2000, when Carmichael was first elected to the House of Delegates. He then asked Carmichael if he had any more specific knowledge about the case.
“No,” Carmichael said.
“OK, thank you sir,” Judge Evans said. “You are excused.”
Cosenza then spoke on behalf of Hinzman, contending that he should be sentenced to home confinement. “No prior record, served his country with honor, been a good citizen in this community.”
Cosenza said, “I think the court could easily justify that to the publlic, which again, you know, part of your sentencing is not just about him, but it’s about the community. It is about the public. But you’ve got a good representation of the community right here today in these letters, people who are here, testimony of a state senator, all of these people here, your community, telling you that you should not send Cecil to prison.”
Hinzman spoke on his own behalf, saying he had spent his life trying to help people and that the lesson he had learned is that good intentions will be used against you:
“All I’ve ever done is try to help people. And every time I help somebody, it comes back to bite me. As we stand and you sit in your seat up there, if I go down the road and see a car on fire, I won’t stop. I have before, and I’ve extracted people from those cars. If I see a house on fire, I’m not going to stop and try to help, I’m just going to pull over to the side of the road and call 911 because I have learned a lesson that I won’t be ready to forget. You can’t be good to people because it comes back to bite you.
“The old saying is, ‘No good deed goes unpunished.’ I’ve not done anything to anybody.”
Late in his comments, Hinzman turned to the topic of his political volunteer efforts: “There is people in this building that I have worked for in campaigns that have asked me to do things that I have done. There are people sitting in here that I’ve worked for in campaigns, you included, that got elected.”
Judge Evans disputed that memory, saying Hinzman had actually worked for another candidate running for sheriff: “I don’t remember you working for me in any campaign, Mr. Hinzman.”
When it came time for Judge Evans to announce the sentence, he described how children are often reluctant to make accusations against adults because they aren’t emotionally ready to understand what is happening and they think they won’t be believed.
“Child sexual assault is a selfish crime. It is pure selfishness, that is all it really is,” Evans said.
The judge said he was shocked by the Alford plea because it meant 18 counts would be dismissed, leaving only three.
“I know Cecil’s been very active in politics. I know that Cecil’s done good things in his life, positive things in his life. In my opinion, though, it doesn’t outweigh the seriousness of the crimes that he stands before the court to be sentenced on this morning.”
Hinzman was sentenced to serve one to five years on each of the three counts, running consecutively.
The court system estimates his release date will be Sept. 24, 2020. After his release, he is required to register as a sex offender.
“Hearing is concluded,” Judge Evans said. “The defendant is remanded.”
That ended the case legally, but its political implications were just beginning.
Carmichael, now frequently hearing the advertisements that have resulted, says he has no misgivings about providing testimony but he wishes the case were not being used politically.
“Obviously I wish I had never been asked because now it’s being used and distorted,” Carmichael said Wednesday. “The pain of children is being used for a political objective.
“But we have a civic duty to tell the truth when asked. I didn’t seek this out. I didn’t volunteeer. I was asked and I told the truth. For that I’m getting pummeled for a political objective. Because I went in and told the truth, I’m getting excoriated for telling the truth.
Carmichael went on to say, “It really is disgusting that these groups would use that. Some people will stoop to anything.”