BATTLE MOUNTAIN - Jess Manuel Willer was sentenced Sept. 11 by Sixth Judicial District Judge Michael Montero to two to five years in prison for attempted child sexual abuse, a category C felony.
Willer, who has a prior criminal record, was 20 when the event occurred on May 12, 2012, at a residence on Elquist Drive.
He was given credit for 117 days of time served. He was also sentenced to a lifetime of supervision and a lifetime of sex offender registration. He was ordered to pay $900 for a psychosexual evaluation and $250 for his public defender. He was defended by Sherburne Macfarlan, of Elko.
He was also ordered to pay the victim nearly $5,000 in restitution fees.
Macfarlan told the judge that Willer stepped up to the plate and pleaded guilty and asked for the defendant to be placed on probation and attend drug court.
"Allow this young man to prove himself to this court and the community," Macfarlan said. "The bottom line is it is very rare that an individual goes to prison and comes out a better person."
District Attorney Angie Elquist argued for prison due to the gravity of the crime. She also asked for $4,937 in restitution to be paid to the victim.
When Willer had the chance to speak, he said, "I just want to apologize for the things that I do and I wish to get the help for the things that I need."
The female victim, who was 13 at the time of the crime, and another woman were sworn in to give victim impact statements at the sentencing hearing.
The woman said that the victim wound up with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) as a result of the crime and that the victim was not psychologically able to cope with what had happened.
The victim tearfully told the judge that her therapist diagnosed her with PTSD and that she had panic attacks and tried to kill herself as a result of the crime.
She said she no longer trusts people and suffers from depression. She said she cannot talk to men anymore because she feels like they want to use her.
The victim also told the judge that she has dreams about what occurred and wakes up crying in the middle of the night.
The first criminal complaint, which was later amended, alleged that the actions were done against the will of the child.
Willer was originally charged with sexual assault against a child under the age of 14, a category A felony, or in the alternative, with lewdness with a child under the age of 14, also a category A felony.
In the case of alternative charges, the district attorney is putting the defendant on notice of both charges and once the evidence is presented, the person can be found guilty of one or the other charge but not both, or acquitted.
The second criminal complaint stated that the defendant attempted to willfully cause a child to suffer unjustifiable physical pain as a result of sexual abuse.
Willer waived his June 4 preliminary hearing in the Argenta Justice Court and signed a guilty plea agreement on June 3 in exchange for no other charges to be filed against him.
Right after his sentencing for attempted child sexual abuse, Willer was then sentenced for being under the influence of a controlled substance, a category E felony. He was represented by Public Defender Ted Herrera.
He was sentenced by Montero to 12 to 34 months in prison to run concurrently with his other sentence and he was given credit for five days of time served. He was placed on probation for 36 months.[[In-content Ad]]
