Justice is finally served. Somehow it still doesn't take away the memory of the incident and what emotional scars will remain.
January 24, 2007) — In 17 years as a state Supreme Court justice, Francis A. Affronti has presided over dozens of homicide trials.
But as Rashad Peterkin was sentenced Tuesday for abducting and terrorizing an Irondequoit family on Easter Sunday and a Rochester man the day before, the judge said those two cases, which didn't end in deaths, surpassed levels of savagery he sees in murders.
"You are a danger," Affronti told Peterkin, 18, before imposing a prison term of 50 years — the maximum allowed.
"You must not, in my opinion, be allowed to ever terrorize anyone again," Affronti said. "You showed no mercy to any of these individuals, and in turn I'm not going to show any mercy on you."
Peterkin, who was 17 when the crimes were committed, didn't speak when given the chance.
But his lawyer, Mark D. Funk, said Peterkin maintains his innocence.
"We believe although the jury found him guilty, the jury did not hear proof beyond a reasonable doubt," Funk said. He asked for leniency.
Peterkin and his brother, Don L. Peterkin, 19, were convicted after separate trials of robbery, burglary, kidnapping, aggravated sexual abuse, sexual abuse, unlawful imprisonment and petit larceny.
Jurors found that they accosted an Irondequoit couple and their 20-month-old daughter at gunpoint on April 16, 2006, as the family arrived at their Ridgeview Drive home after spending Easter with relatives.
The family was robbed, forced twice to withdraw money from ATMs, pistol-whipped, ordered into the trunk of their car, and driven around in a 4½-hour ordeal that ended when Good Samaritans saw their plight and called police, who found and freed the family.
The woman was sexually abused twice — once by Don Peterkin in the trunk of the car, and once by Rashad Peterkin in her home.
The brothers also were convicted of abducting a Rochester man from the driveway of his St. Casimir Street home on April 15 when he got out of his car after running errands. He was forced to withdraw money from an ATM and, like the Irondequoit couple, threatened with death if he called police.
Before Affronti imposed sentence, the adult victims of the Irondequoit and Rochester abductions told the judge how the crimes have affected them.
The Irondequoit woman said the pain inflicted on her family was intensified by the knowledge that Rashad Peterkin could have stopped it at any time.
"Not doing anything to stop these crimes is his worst crime ... he just let us suffer," she said.
She also thanked three strangers — Chetara Lewis, Travis Lewis and Sarah Lewis — who called 911 in outrage after the Peterkins stopped at a relatives' home to show off the family in the trunk of the car.
"They are angels and will eternally have the gratitude of our family," the woman said. "They saw a situation that was out of hand and knew that what was happening was wrong. They didn't judge us, they just knew that we were human beings and as fellow human beings we needed their help."
The Democrat and Chronicle is not naming the woman or her husband because she was the victim of a sexual assault.
The trauma of the crimes has caused the Irondequoit family and the Rochester man to sell their homes. In the case of the Rochester victim, 28-year-old Tim Minerd, it meant selling a home that his late grandfather built 55 years ago.
"I'm a mess," Minerd told Affronti. "I don't think I'll ever know the true impact this has had on my life."
Assistant District Attorney Joanne M. Winslow said the sentence was fitting. She echoed a comment by Affronti, who said he recommends that Peterkin, who is eligible for parole after serving 42 years, be required to serve the full 50 years.
"It's unfortunate, it's tragic, that such a young life would be wasted, but it's appropriate," Winslow said.
