Defense attorney addresses rumors
In March 2018, a 44-year-old female teacher from Kingston was arrested and charged with four counts of Second Degree Rape. On August 26, Tasha McCuan pled guilty to one charge of Second Degree Rape, and on October 7, a year and a half since her initial arrest, McCuan was sentenced.
Even though the original charges were four counts of Second Degree Rape, one charge did not make it through the preliminary hearing, and two more were dropped with McCuan’s guilty plea. That is why she only has one count against her.
Judge Wallace Coppedge was the presiding judge, and Paulé Smith was McCuan’s attorney. Coppedge asked if McCuan understood her rights before he continued, to which she answered positively that she did.
Coppedge then checked to make sure every affected person was satisfied with the plea deal. He was informed that the victim’s mother was notified about the deal, and was satisfied.
Once the judge gathered all of the information needed, it was time for the sentencing portion of the hearing. McCuan was sentenced to 15 years, with all but the first five years suspended, and to register as a Sex Offender upon release. The defendant was also ordered to pay a fine of approximately $2,220 once released from incarceration.
This plea hinged on making sure no other counties were in the position to file against the defendant. Smith reassured Coppedge that no other counties were involved, or planning to charge McCuan with anything.
Smith then requested that the judge permit McCuan to have till Friday to turn herself in to begin her sentence, allowing the defendant’s place of employment time to replace her.
Coppedge denied the request. He wanted her sentencing to begin on October 7. “She had since August to get things in order,” Coppedge stated.
The judge concluded the hearing with a few words for McCuan. “You made some bad decisions, but this does not have to ruin your life,” Coppedge said. “Do your time and become a productive member of society. I wish you luck.”
Coppedge also thanked Mc-Cuan for coming forward and pleading guilty, and saving the heartache for the victim.
Smith said this case was not a typical one with justice as the main goal.
“Unfortunately I feel the disposition of this case was less about justice and more about appeasing the mother of now a grown man to try to help her feel better about herself,” Smith noted.
“The law on this type of offense does not take into account anything about the age or maturity of the alleged victims or whether the employee of the school system had any interaction at school with the students,” Smith added. “I think that is where the law falls short. I also think it doesn’t take into account small towns and everybody knowing each other regardless of the schools they attend.”
Smith said she also believes there is no consistency when it comes to these types of cases. “These types of cases get prosecuted sporadically and inconsistently based on the driving forces and whether they exist – that is always going to be fundamentally unjust.”
McCuan’s attorney wanted to set a few things straight and dispel some of the rumors that have circulated since the original arrest, that the defendant is not a monster.
“In no way is Mrs. McCuan trying to lessen the responsibility of her actions, however, we do think it is important for the public to realize that the men involved were not students of Mrs. McCuan, who was at the time of the offense, a first-grade teacher in another building.”
Smith said even though she does not believe the case was about justice, she appreciated Judge Coppedge and the cooperation from the state.
“The State and Court system were good to work with us and we appreciate Judge Coppedge’s kind words from the bench. We also appreciate Assistant District Attorneys Heather Cooper and Aaron Taber efforts to work with us to get to this resolution.”