Town of Amenia resident William Tate Jr. faces a minimum of 30 years in prison in the brutal sexual abuse and murder of his 3 1/2-month-old daughter.
Standing before a judge in the Dutchess County Courthouse on Thursday afternoon, the 29-year-old Tate acknowledged he caused the death of his daughter, Reese Tate, by sexually abusing her and inflicting head injuries. The baby was fatally injured at the family's home on Willow Lane in Wassaic on the night of Feb. 3. She was pronounced dead early on Feb. 4 at Sharon (Conn.) Hospital.
Tate entered guilty pleas to second-degree murder and aggravated sexual abuse. He will be sentenced to 25 years to life in prison, the maximum penalty allowed by law for second-degree murder, and an additional five years in prison on the sexual abuse charge. Judge Thomas J. Dolan set sentencing for June 25.
"Were you aware that acting in that manner with that child was likely to cause serious physical injury or death?" Dolan asked Tate during the 15-minute proceeding in the third-floor courtroom .
"Yes," Tate replied.
"And I take it you would also agree that a 3-month-old child, an infant, was particularly vulnerable to being manhandled in the manner you described?" the judged asked.
"Yes," Tate said.
Speaking in a flat monotone, Tate began his account of the crimes by telling the judge he had been bouncing the baby on his knee and that he had squeezed her and she struck her head on his knee.
This prompted Senior Assistant District Attorney Marjorie Smith to interrupt the proceedings.
"May I read a list of (the baby's) injuries?" Smith asked Dolan.
The prosecutor then read from court documents prepared by the grand jury that indicted Tate for the crimes. Those injuries included brain swelling, broken ribs, lung congestion, anal tearing and the ripping of her bowel from her intestines, resulting in peritonitis.
The infant died as a result of "blunt impact to the head and thrusting injuries to the abdomen and stomach," according to the indictment.
Smith, an assistant district attorney for nearly 30 years, called the crime the worst she had ever prosecuted, describing it as "beyond horrific.
Town of Amenia resident William Tate Jr. faces a minimum of 30 years in prison in the brutal sexual abuse and murder of his 3 1/2-month-old daughter.
Standing before a judge in the Dutchess County Courthouse on Thursday afternoon, the 29-year-old Tate acknowledged he caused the death of his daughter, Reese Tate, by sexually abusing her and inflicting head injuries. The baby was fatally injured at the family's home on Willow Lane in Wassaic on the night of Feb. 3. She was pronounced dead early on Feb. 4 at Sharon (Conn.) Hospital.
Tate entered guilty pleas to second-degree murder and aggravated sexual abuse. He will be sentenced to 25 years to life in prison, the maximum penalty allowed by law for second-degree murder, and an additional five years in prison on the sexual abuse charge. Judge Thomas J. Dolan set sentencing for June 25.
"Were you aware that acting in that manner with that child was likely to cause serious physical injury or death?" Dolan asked Tate during the 15-minute proceeding in the third-floor courtroom .
"Yes," Tate replied.
"And I take it you would also agree that a 3-month-old child, an infant, was particularly vulnerable to being manhandled in the manner you described?" the judged asked.
"Yes," Tate said.
Speaking in a flat monotone, Tate began his account of the crimes by telling the judge he had been bouncing the baby on his knee and that he had squeezed her and she struck her head on his knee.
This prompted Senior Assistant District Attorney Marjorie Smith to interrupt the proceedings.
"May I read a list of (the baby's) injuries?" Smith asked Dolan.
The prosecutor then read from court documents prepared by the grand jury that indicted Tate for the crimes. Those injuries included brain swelling, broken ribs, lung congestion, anal tearing and the ripping of her bowel from her intestines, resulting in peritonitis.
The infant died as a result of "blunt impact to the head and thrusting injuries to the abdomen and stomach," according to the indictment.
Smith, an assistant district attorney for nearly 30 years, called the crime the worst she had ever prosecuted, describing it as "beyond horrific.
"I don't know of a person involved, from the police to the lab people to the people in the Connecticut Medical Examiner's Office to the grand jurors, who were not profoundly affected by the horror of what the last few moments of this little girl's life must have been like," the prosecutor said.
Smith said she was grateful Tate's decision to admit the crimes had spared the family the ordeal of testifying at a trial.
"The family is now relieved of having to come forward and testifying, but I know they all would have done it," Smith said, referring to Tate's wife, her parents and his parents.
She said all the family members "had been profoundly grieving from the day of the crime to this day."
"This was a beautiful little girl who was very loved," she said.
Smith praised Rochelle McDonough of the Crime Victims Assistance Bureau for comforting the family and cited Dutchess County sheriff's deputies for the work they had done gathering the evidence leading to Tate's guilty pleas.
"They all did a thorough job under extraordinarily difficult and emotional circumstances," she said.
Tate will not be eligible for parole until 2040. If he is ever paroled, he must undergo an additional 20 years of post-release supervision, meaning that if he violates any of the terms of his release, he will be sent back to prison.
Smith said she was grateful Tate's decision to admit the crimes had spared the family the ordeal of testifying at a trial.
"The family is now relieved of having to come forward and testifying, but I know they all would have done it," Smith said, referring to Tate's wife, her parents and his parents.
She said all the family members "had been profoundly grieving from the day of the crime to this day."
"This was a beautiful little girl who was very loved," she said.
Smith praised Rochelle McDonough of the Crime Victims Assistance Bureau for comforting the family and cited Dutchess County sheriff's deputies for the work they had done gathering the evidence leading to Tate's guilty pleas.
"They all did a thorough job under extraordinarily difficult and emotional circumstances," she said.
Tate will not be eligible for parole until 2040. If he is ever paroled, he must undergo an additional 20 years of post-release supervision, meaning that if he violates any of the terms of his release, he will be sent back to prison.
Reach Larry Hertz at lhertz@poughkee.gannett.com or 845-437-4824.
Parental Alienation Syndrome (PAS)
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