FARMINGTON – An Auburn man will serve a three years in prison, after being sentenced Friday in Franklin County Superior Court.
Zachariah Robert Tardif, 24, of Auburn, was sentenced to a 10-year prison sentence with all but three years suspended, and six years of probation for inappropriately touching a young girl. Tardif, as part of a sentencing arrangement, plead guilty to unlawful sexual touching, a Class B felony, on June 11.
Tardif plead guilty to a single count as part of an arranged sentence between the state and defendant. However, as noted by both Assistant District Attorney Andrew Robinson and David Sanders, Tardif’s attorney, the defendant and victim disagree on the number of times that incidents occurred. The victim, a girl under the age of 10 when the incident Tardif plead to occurred, submitted a letter to Justice Michaela Murphy for the purposes of sentencing.
The agreement set the total prison sentence at 10 years, and the length of the probationary period at six years. The sentencing hearing was held to determine how much of the sentence should be suspended, with an agreed-upon cap of three years.
“This is a child who is seriously impacted by the actions of the defendant,” Robinson told the court, summing up the victim’s letter as well as a submission from the victim’s mother. Robinson also noted that Tardif had never truly apologized for his conduct, and that his guilty plea had been in the nature of an “Alford Plea,” in which a defendant admits sufficient evidence to convict him potentially exists, but does not admit actual guilt.
Robinson said that the state felt three years in prison was too short a sentence, but that the plea arrangement spared the victim the need to testify and helped bring closure to her family.
Sanders, who noted that Tardif had no prior record, presented witnesses who attested to Tardif’s character as a neighbor, friend and father. Tardif briefly addressed the court, saying his family had been “broken” by the incident and that he was “truly sorry” for what the victim had gone through. Sanders submitted a psychological report into evidence, which described Tardif’s chances to re-offend as low.
Murphy sentenced Tardif to the maximum three years in prison, saying she agreed with Robinson that a longer sentence would have been more appropriate. Murphy accepted the deal with “some reluctance,” but said she agreed that not having a trial was in the best interests of the victim.
Upon his release, Tardif will spend six years on probation, during which time he will undergo counseling and sex offender treatment and be unable to have unsupervised contact with children under the age of 18. He will also need to comply with the Sex Offender Registry Notification Act, and will be listed on the SORNA registry for the remainder of his life.
That’s not enough!!!