A former Prince George鈥檚 County, Maryland, firefighter who pleaded guilty to sexually abusing four boys in the 1990s, was sentenced Tuesday in an emotional hearing that left a judge angry about the terms of the plea deal.
Under the deal reached with prosecutors, John Inman’s 45-year sentence was suspended, meaning the time he served after his arrest is the only time he would spend behind bars.
John Inman, who spent decades working with the Hyattsville Volunteer Fire Station, pleaded guilty Friday.
During the sentencing hearing, Inman faced forward and never acknowledged the victims who spoke. At the hearing’s conclusion,聽Judge Gladys Weatherspoon said she regretted accepting the plea deal.
After the hearing, Prince George’s County State鈥檚 Attorney Tara Jackson defended the deal, which was agreed to by the victims in the case, though one said this wasn鈥檛 justice.
鈥淎ll of the circumstances in this case are circumstances that the prosecutors had to analyze, and they had to make a decision,鈥� Jackson said. 鈥淚t’s not unusual for victims to have mixed feelings in cases like this, and to not feel like justice was served 鈥� that’s not unusual. But I can tell you that the prosecutors did their very best with the evidence that they had.鈥�
Asked if she thought this was justice, Jackson said it was accountability.
鈥淗e has pled guilty to four charges, to include felony charges,鈥� she said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 been placed on five years supervised probation, and he’s a lifetime sex offender. So I feel like we were able to hold him accountable.鈥�
Two of the four victims, who were abused between 1990 and 1996, addressed the court.
The first ripped a group of retired firefighters, which included a current Maryland state trooper, who were there in support of Inman. He asked, rhetorically, how many more victims there were, and he wasn鈥檛 the only one to suggest there were more than four victims.
鈥淚 hope you see your victims’ faces every night,鈥� he told Inman, who stared straight ahead and never looked at the victim. 鈥淗ell has a special place for you.鈥�
Jackson addressed that matter outside the courthouse.
鈥淚f there are victims,鈥� she said, 鈥淚 want them to come forward and reach out to the police department, and we’ll handle those cases accordingly.鈥�
When Inman鈥檚 lawyer started speaking, reading off statements of praise from a list of people who were inside and outside the courtroom, victims who had already poured out their hearts were left bewildered. When Inman himself refused to say anything, the judge took her turn.
鈥淵ou don鈥檛 care at all,鈥� Weatherspoon said. 鈥淚 wish I hadn鈥檛 taken this plea.鈥�
She also warned him that if anything happened to any of the victims, she would assume he had something to do with it.
She then apologized to the victims. She was the only person at Tuesday’s hearing to do so.
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