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State v. Erich Pfeil
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MAINE SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT				Reporter of Decisions
Decision: 	1998 ME 245
Docket: 	Sag-98-138
Argued: 	November 4, 1998
Decided:	November 20, 1998


Panel:WATHEN, C.J., and CLIFFORD, RUDMAN, DANA, SAUFLEY, ALEXANDER, and
CALKINS, JJ.

STATE OF MAINE

v.

ERICH PFEIL

CALKINS, J.

	[¶1]  	Erich Pfeil appeals from a judgment of conviction entered in the
Superior Court (Sagadahoc County, Bradford, J.) on his guilty pleas to gross
sexual assault, unlawful sexual contact, and assault.  Pfeil contends that he
should have been permitted to withdraw his guilty pleas.  Because his
motion to withdraw the guilty pleas was made after sentence was imposed,
we dismiss the appeal.  Pfeil was also granted leave to appeal his sentence
which he argues is excessive.  We affirm the sentence.

I.  Appeal of denial of motion to withdraw pleas

	[¶2]  	Erich Pfeil, age 46, acknowledges that he is a pedophile.  He was
indicted on 25 counts of gross sexual assault, unlawful sexual contact, and
assault.  Pfeil reached a plea agreement with the State.  In exchange for
pleas of guilty to three counts of gross sexual assault, four counts of unlawful
sexual contact, and two counts of assault, the State recommended a
sentence of fifteen years imprisonment, all but ten years suspended, and six
years of probation.  Pursuant to the agreement the State would dismiss the
remaining counts of the indictment and Pfeil was free to argue for a lesser
sentence.  Following the Rule 11 proceeding, a presentence report was
ordered, and the sentencing was continued.
	[¶3]  	A sentencing hearing was held on February 27, 1998.  The court
heard from the State and one of the victims, as well as Pfeil and Pfeil's
attorney.  Both the State and Pfeil's counsel noted that the presentence
report recommended a sentence of four years, suspending all but 273 days,
which was the number of days that Pfeil had been incarcerated pending his
sentencing.  The presentence report also recommended a sentencing
scheme involving consecutive suspended sentences for some of the counts
so that a probationary period of eighteen years could be imposed.  Pfeil's
counsel told the court that Pfeil would agree to a longer period of probation
than the State had recommended in the plea agreement.  The court
imposed a sentence totalling thirty­p;six years imprisonment with all but
seven years suspended, and eighteen years of probation.  At a sidebar
conference counsel and the judge discussed giving the defendant an
opportunity to withdraw his plea because the sentence exceeded the
agreement.  Defense counsel offered to speak to Pfeil and thereafter told the
court that the sentence was acceptable.  The court then asked Pfeil directly
if he agreed to the terms of the sentence even though it exceeded the
agreement, and Pfeil answered, "Yes, I do, your honor."
	[¶4]  	On its own motion pursuant to M.R. Crim. P. 35(a), the court
held a resentencing hearing approximately two weeks later.  The judge
stated that because the sentences as imposed were contrary to the plea
agreement he intended to restructure the sentences so that Pfeil would not
face more than a total of fifteen years imprisonment.  The State then
recommended sentences that would total fifteen years, suspending all but
seven years with fourteen years of probation.  Defense counsel stated that
any sentence greater than the original recommendation of the State would
violate the plea agreement.  The court imposed sentences on the nine
counts which totalled fifteen years imprisonment, all but seven years
suspended, and ten years probation.{1}  Pfeil then moved to withdraw his
pleas on the ground that the sentences exceeded the plea agreement, and
the court denied the motion.
	[¶5]  	M.R. Crim. P. 32(d) provides that "A motion to withdraw a plea
of guilty or of nolo contendere may be made only before sentence is
imposed."  We have held that under the plain language of the rule, a motion
to withdraw made after sentencing should be dismissed by the trial court
without reaching the merits.{2}  See State v. Cardosi, 498 A.2d 599, 600­p;01
(Me. 1985).  If the court had granted the untimely motion, its action would
have been "ineffective," State v. Loftus, 631 A.2d 903, 904 (Me. 1993), and
"a nullity," Cardosi, 498 A.2d at 601.  A defendant's "sole remedy" after
sentencing is post-conviction review.  Id. at 600; see also Shorette v. State,
402 A.2d 450, 460 (Me. 1979).
	[¶6]  	Pfeil contends that his motion to withdraw his pleas was not
pursuant to Rule 32 but rather to Rule 11A.  Regardless of the grounds for
the motion to withdraw a plea, however, Rule 32(d) governs the timing of
the motion.
	[¶7]  	The reason that post-conviction review is appropriate and that
an adequate review cannot be held on direct appeal is amply illustrated in
this case.  Pfeil's basis for his motion to withdraw his plea is that his rights
under Rule 11A were violated.  He argues that the judge did not comply with
Rule 11A during the second sentencing hearing because the judge did not
inform Pfeil that he intended to impose a less favorable sentence and did
not give Pfeil an opportunity to withdraw his pleas before the resentence
was imposed.{3}  See Shorette v. State, 402 A.2d at 460.  The significant issue,
however, is not whether the court complied with the rule, but whether
Pfeil's pleas were made knowingly and voluntarily.{4}  If Pfeil's claim is that
his waiver of trial and his pleas were not made knowingly and voluntarily
because the plea agreement led him to expect a lesser sentence than what
was imposed, an evidentiary hearing is necessary to develop a record from
which a court can determine whether the pleas were made knowingly and
voluntarily.
	[¶8]  	From the transcript of the first sentencing, it appears that Pfeil
had an off-the-record discussion with his attorney before agreeing to accept
the sentence.  Whether such a discussion actually occurred, how long it
lasted, and what was said cannot be ascertained from this record.  Pfeil
suggests that any waiver he made to the imposition of a harsher sentence
was not knowing and voluntary because of his cognitive difficulties and the
presence of television cameras at the first hearing.  The present record does
not permit a finding that Pfeil's waiver of his right to withdraw his plea was
not voluntary.  Post-conviction review is the appropriate procedural vehicle
to address the issue.

II.  Sentence appeal

	[¶9]  	Pfeil appeals his sentence pursuant to 15 M.R.S.A. § 2151 (Supp.
1997).  He challenges the suspended and unsuspended imprisonment
portions of his sentences on the three counts of gross sexual assault and four
counts of unlawful sexual contact.  He does not challenge the assault
sentences.
	[¶10]  The facts before the sentencing judge were that Pfeil undertook
various activities that would bring him close to children.  He befriended the
three victims in this case, "recruiting" them and "grooming" them to be
victimized, and exposed them to pornography and explicit sexual
discussions.  He promised to make "Indian suits" for two of the victims,
inducing them to remove their clothes so he could measure them.
	[¶11]  Pfeil molested the victim of the three gross sexual assaults and
one unlawful sexual contact by fondling the boy's anus and genitals and
touching his penis with a piece of leather.{5}  The victim was twelve and
thirteen years old at the time of the abuse, which took place on multiple
occasions between February and May, 1997.  A second boy, age ten, was the
victim of two unlawful sexual contacts and one assault.  Pfeil had him
undress to be measured on multiple occasions between January and March
1997, and touched his penis with a measuring tape and a piece of felt.  Pfeil
committed assault against the third boy, an eleven-year-old, in April 1997,
by tickling him after being told to stop and grabbing him near his genitals. 
	[¶12]  Pfeil had no criminal record.  The sentencing judge had two
written evaluations, one from a psychologist and the other from a
psychiatrist, who had examined Pfeil.  The various diagnoses included
pedophilia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and Klinefelter's Syndrome. 
Both evaluations concluded that Pfeil was a good candidate for sex offender
treatment.
	[¶13]  In imposing the sentence at the first sentencing hearing, the
court utilized the three-step procedure established in State v. Hewey, 622
A.2d 1151, 1154-55 (Me. 1993), and codified at 17-A M.R.S.A. § 1252-C
(Supp. 1997).  The court did not change its Hewey analysis at the second
sentencing hearing, but reduced the underlying sentence by making
concurrent some of the sentences which it had originally made consecutive.
	[¶14]  In the first step of the Hewey  analysis, the court determines
the "basic term of imprisonment by considering the particular nature and
seriousness of the offense as committed by the offender," id. § 1252-C(1),
judging it on a scale of seriousness against all possible ways of committing
the crime.  See State v. Lilley, 624 A.2d 935, 936 (Me. 1993).  The Law
Court reviews the determination of the basic period for misapplication of
principle.  Hewey, 622 A.2d at 1155.
	[¶15]  For the three gross sexual assaults, the court found the basic
period to be within a range of ten to fifteen years.  Pfeil argues that the court
impermissibly considered the fact that there were multiple offenses.  The
multiplicity of the offenses is not an impermissible factor.  That Pfeil
carefully selected his child victim, "groomed" him to be abused, developed a
friendship with him over a period of months, and then betrayed that
friendship by a series of sexual assaults, is a consideration of the particular
nature and seriousness of the offenses and not of Pfeil's criminal history.
	[¶16]  Pfeil also argues that the court should not have considered the
effect on the victim in arriving at the basic sentence.  Although the
"subjective" effect on the victim is not properly considered in the first step,
"objective" facts regarding the victim are appropriate.  See § 1252-C(2);
State v. Shulikov, 1998 ME 111, ¶ 23, 712 A.2d 504, 511.  The court could
have correctly considered the objective fact that the victim was a young boy
who had his whole life in front of him to be affected by Pfeil's crimes.
	[¶17]  Pfeil committed three gross sexual assaults on a child.  Because
there was no violence and no penetration, Pfeil's conduct cannot be
considered among the most serious ways of committing gross sexual assault,
but neither can it be minimized consistent with the court's statutory duty to
impose sentences that "do not diminish the gravity of offenses, with
reference to . . . [t]he age of the victim."  17-A M.R.S.A. § 1151(8) (Supp.
1997).  Furthermore, the sentencing court had before it substantial
information regarding sentences that had been imposed in other cases
involving sexual offenses against children.{6}  The court did not misapply
principle in selecting a ten to fifteen year range as the basic period of
incarceration for the gross sexual assaults.{7}
	[¶18]  In the next step, the court considered the aggravating and
mitigating factors and determined a maximum period of incarceration of
twelve years for the gross sexual assaults and three years for the unlawful
sexual contacts.  This Court reviews that determination for abuse of
discretion.  See State v. Corrieri, 654 A.2d 419, 423 (Me. 1995).  The
sentencing court considered a number of aggravating factors, including
Pfeil's "grooming" behavior by which he recruited his victims, his
pedophilia, the terrible impact of his crimes on the victims, and the need to
protect the public.  It also considered mitigating factors, including Pfeil's
remorse, his lack of criminal history, his physical and mental problems, and
the opinion of the two evaluators that his pedophilia is treatable, although
the court noted some skepticism regarding the latter.  Keeping in mind the
sentencing court's "superior position for evaluating evidence of the
circumstances of the offender," Hewey, 622 A.2d at 1155, its determination
that the aggravating and mitigating factors were roughly equal in weight,
justifying maximum sentences of twelve years for the gross sexual assaults
and three years for the unlawful sexual contacts, was not an abuse of
discretion.{8} 
	[¶19]  In the final step of the Hewey  procedure, the court suspended
all of the unlawful sexual contact sentences and all but seven years of the
gross sexual assault sentences.  That step also involves weighing the
aggravating and mitigating factors and is reviewed for abuse of discretion. 
See Corrieri, 654 A.2d at 423.  Pfeil argues that the court gave insufficient
weight to his prospects for rehabilitation.  "[T]he need to protect the
public," however, is also a factor to be considered in determining how much
of the sentence to suspend.  See State v. Coreau, 651 A.2d 319, 320 (Me.
1994).  The court was entitled to weigh the unknown effects of future
treatment and rehabilitation against the known fact that Pfeil is a pedophile
who acted upon his sexual attraction to children.  The court did not abuse
its discretion by suspending five years of the twelve-year maximum
sentence.
	The entry is:

Appeal from denial of motion to withdraw plea
dismissed.  Sentences affirmed.
Attorneys for State:

Geoffrey A. Rushlau, District Attorney
F. Todd Lowell, Asst. Dist. Atty., (orally)
P O Box 246
Bath, ME 04530

Attorneys for defendant:

Gail Peabody, Esq., (orally)
P O Box 270
Orr's Island, ME 04066-0270

At earlier stages of the proceedings:

Matthew Pollack, Esq.
Pollack & Quirion, P.A.
P O Box 250
Topsham, ME 04086

Christopher L. Mann, Esq.
72 Front Street
Bath, ME 04530