Quoddy Tides 11-28-08Former Lubec Consolidated School teacher Tina Mason was sentenced for engaging in a sexual relationship with a 13 year old boy on Friday, November 21. In accordance with a plea agreement with the District Attorney's office, Mason received a 30 day jail sentence, along with suspended sentences and probation, as a result of her no contest plea to three misdemeanor charges. The plea agreement spared Mason from facing felony charges alleging that she engaged in intercourse and oral sex with the 13 year old son of family friends for a period of several months in summer and fall 2007.
The mother of the victim, speaking in court, was critical of the sentence and of Mason. "As a mother to a mother, I will never forgive you for what you have done to my family. You have taken something from my son that no one should ever take. You have taken a 13 year old boy's innocence. You have showed no remorse in this courtroom or in the last month. Shame on you. You are getting off easy. I believe you should have 3 consecutive jail terms in which each charge you have plead to today. I hope you can live with the choices you have made by taking this plea. Taking this plea, makes you guilty in all minds. This just shows your arrogance towards this matter, results in an easier sentence. I pray that you are never put in this situation that I am in. I hope it has been worth your teaching career, the respect from your family, and your husband and especially your boys. They will soon realize, today and in the future, what has happened here, especially your boys as they grow older." Mason, a resident of East Machias, was a friend of the boy's family, who also reside in East Machias, before the abuse came to light. Mason's two young children attend the same school as the younger siblings of the victim, and both families socialized frequently together, according to Assistant District Attorney Paul Cavanaugh, who prosecuted the case.
The sexual abuse of the East Machias victim came to light as a result of an investigation undertaken at the Lubec school. According to ADA Cavanaugh, school authorities received a report of "an improper relationship with a student." While questioning individuals related to this alleged relationship, school officials found evidence that Mason had had a physical relationship with her then 13 year old neighbor and immediately contacted the Washington County Sheriff's Department and turned over the results of the school's inquiry. Sheriff Donnie Smith explained that Deputy Ralph Pineo led the investigation, which involved as many as three deputies. "I would estimate we spent at least 160 hours investigating this case, and would like to praise the hard work of the deputies involved. I believe that when we presented it (to the District Attorney for prosecution) it was a strong case and Deputy Pineo did a great job." Smith, who is also in charge of the jail where Mason is serving her term, said "With good behavior, the thirty days is served in three weeks." When asked if Mason will serve less time than that of all the investigators, from the school, his department and the District Attorney's office, he paused and said "Oh, yes." ADA Cavanaugh suggested that, under a special program at the jail, it was possible that Mason could, in fact, be released after serving just one third of her sentence, with the remainder to be served under house arrest.
In court, Cavanaugh defended the plea agreement and sentencing recommendation, saying that "Mason has no prior record, motor vehicle or criminal; there is no corroborating physical evidence and a delay in reporting (the crime); she's prepared to allow both families closure; the sentence is long enough to get her attention." In a victim impact statement, the boy's mother demurred. She not only asked that jail time be imposed for all three offenses, but felt there was a double standard at play, because it was a female who had abused a male child. "If there were a man versus a girl, there is no question in my mind that the punishment would be much harsher. You benefit from this double standard." Sandy Collier of Ellsworth, Mason's attorney, argued for no jail time, or less than the 30 maximum allowed in the plea agreement. "The nature of the convictions and the nature of the probation conditions are a severe punishment. She will become a registered sex offender, she is giving up her teaching career. (She can have ) no contact with any child under 16 except her own." Mason also asked the judge for leniency. "There is nothing I can say to make this situation any better. Throughout this process, I have cooperated to the best of my ability and continue to cooperate with everything the state has asked me to do. All I want to do is try to get through this and get back to my family and try and help support them. I would also like to ask you to please think of my little children. My oldest son's biggest fear is that we will no longer be a happy family. My youngest son asks me every day who will protect him when I am not there?" It was not clear from whom Mason's son needed protection; her husband, Jason Mason, was not alleged to have engaged in any of the abuse for which she was sentenced. Mason and husband Jason Mason, a corrections officer at Bucks Harbor, have two boys, six and ten years old. He accompanied her to court and embraced her before she was led away by court officers. The judge imposed the maximum sentence allowed under the plea agreement, 30 days in jail and a statutory fine of $400, and Mason was immediately taken into custody to begin serving her sentence.
Reaction to the sentence in Lubec was immediate and universally negative. At a local store, two women were shocked and angered by the 30 day sentence. "She's a woman," said one, "So, she gets a slap on the wrist? A man, they would have put him away for 30 years." The other said "After what she did, what she put the boy and his family through, and she wouldn't even plead guilty. 'No contest?' What does that mean? 'I can't be bothered to deny it, if that's all I get?'" Public opinion in Lubec is that the sentence was too light, and most felt that Mason should have faced more serious charges for statutory rape. The prevailing attitude was that she had betrayed her trust as a teacher and that the district attorney's office failed to a prosecute the case to the extend the case warranted. Many expressed concern that she could regain her teaching credential, in Maine or another state, after leaving the sex offender registry in ten years time. Lubec Consolidated School Principal Peter Doak, informed of the plea and sentencing, said, "The school took the appropriate action with the information we had and contacted law enforcement, who investigated the situation."
In her plea agreement, Mason plead no contest to one count each of assault, sexual abuse of a minor and unlawful sexual touching, all misdemeanors, On the assault count, she was sentenced to 30 days in jail and a mandated $400 fine, which Judge Kevin Cuddy allowed her 90 days to pay. On each of the other two counts, she was sentenced to 11 months in jail, all suspended and one year of probation with special conditions. All of the sentences are to run consecutively. She also agreed to give up her teaching certificate and write a letter to the state of Maine saying that she "intended to give up her right to teach permanently." She must register as a sex offender for the next ten years. She is not allowed to teach, work with or have contact with children under the age of 16, excepting her own children. She was taken immediately after the court session to the Washington County jail for processing, to begin serving her sentence.
