Video related to this article is available below.Issue date: 2/14/08 Section: News
Ex-prof gets prison sentence for sex assault | w/ Interactive Feature
McIntosh receives up to seven years in prison for 2002 sexual assault of college roommate's niece
Meredith Aska Mcbride and Emily Garrett
Former Neurosurgery professor Tracy McIntosh was sentenced to 3 1/2 to seven years in prison yesterday for the 2002 sexual assault of his college roommate's niece.
Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Judge Pamela Pryor Dembe delivered McIntosh's court-ordered new punishment, after his original sentence of 11 1/2 to 23 months of house arrest was vacated by the state Superior and Supreme courts.
Dembe admitted to struggling with the decision.
"Mr. McIntosh is not a monster; no one is," she said. "I have wrestled with this decision."
But Dembe was ultimately unswayed by McIntosh's plea for a lenient sentence as a reward for having been a model citizen before the assault and having complied with all court provisions since 2002. McIntosh, 54, pleaded no-contest to the assault in December 2004.
McIntosh's wife appeared visibly shaken as her husband was led out of the courtroom yesterday.
Defense attorney Joel Trigiani said he plans to appeal the sentence.
"When we have cases like this that are close calls, that's what appellate courts are for," he said.
Sentencing proceedings were delayed yesterday after Trigiani asked to withdraw McIntosh's no-contest plea, a request Dembe denied.
"It's like any major decision in life. Once you've made it, there are second thoughts," Dembe said. "But after two go-arounds it's too late to withdraw the plea."
Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Judge Pamela Pryor Dembe delivered McIntosh's court-ordered new punishment, after his original sentence of 11 1/2 to 23 months of house arrest was vacated by the state Superior and Supreme courts.
Dembe admitted to struggling with the decision.
"Mr. McIntosh is not a monster; no one is," she said. "I have wrestled with this decision."
But Dembe was ultimately unswayed by McIntosh's plea for a lenient sentence as a reward for having been a model citizen before the assault and having complied with all court provisions since 2002. McIntosh, 54, pleaded no-contest to the assault in December 2004.
McIntosh's wife appeared visibly shaken as her husband was led out of the courtroom yesterday.
Defense attorney Joel Trigiani said he plans to appeal the sentence.
"When we have cases like this that are close calls, that's what appellate courts are for," he said.
Sentencing proceedings were delayed yesterday after Trigiani asked to withdraw McIntosh's no-contest plea, a request Dembe denied.
"It's like any major decision in life. Once you've made it, there are second thoughts," Dembe said. "But after two go-arounds it's too late to withdraw the plea."
Viewing Comments 1 - 10 of 20
Alumni
posted 2/14/08 @ 8:14 AM EST
It's about time that this arrogant pompous @$$ was locked up. No one is above the law.
Not sure
posted 2/14/08 @ 9:10 AM EST
I can't believe she was totally innocent in this situation. While irresponsible on his part, I can't help but think that he took her out, had a few drinks, got her high, and had sex with her - nothing more. (Continued…)
Nuke
posted 2/14/08 @ 9:39 AM EST
The whole victim litany doesn't add up. At what point did their drinking and getting high and going back to his office turn become a rape? When she woke up the next morning and concluded that this was the only possible explanation? There is a perfectly valid explanation that -but for the crime of political correctness- this woman is simply unwilling to assume any potion of the blame for an evening of alcohol, drug use and adultery. (Continued…)
Alumnae
posted 2/14/08 @ 11:11 AM EST
Did he pour the alcohol down her throat? Did he drag her kicking and screaming back to his office? How do you force someone to smoke marijuana? It must have been force; a 23 year-old adult cannot be "coerced" unless they are mentally handicapped. (Continued…)
Nuke
posted 2/14/08 @ 1:51 PM EST
Dear Alumni (and that includes all of you): I thought the idea of a legal system was to find facts, not humble people because of their status and rank. (Continued…)
Goose
posted 2/14/08 @ 6:26 PM EST
Hmm. Guess some people aren't too good for jail after all.
NRN
posted 2/14/08 @ 6:33 PM EST
The issue is not whether the woman acted irresponsibly, got drunk, and then had sex. The issue is whether or not she was capable of giving consent. She states that she vomited, so she was clearly VERY drunk. (Continued…)
The Truth
posted 2/14/08 @ 7:32 PM EST
Why does his resentencing, after having already served a sentence of house arrest, not constitute double jeopardy?? How would you feel if you were sentenced for a crime, completed the sentence without any further misbehavior, and then several years later, the "victim" gets depressed and you get resentenced for the same exact crime??? If this is not double jeopardy, then i dont know what is. (Continued…)
Penn student
posted 2/14/08 @ 11:31 PM EST
Other articles cite evidence of McIntosh using rufees from his lab to induce the vomiting and inebriated state. This seems to be the primary reason why the victim was "barely conscious" at the time of the assault, and not because of some drinking that went on that night. (Continued…)
Read on..
posted 2/15/08 @ 4:28 PM EST
She was a Penn graduate! What kind of tour do you need after 4 years here?!
And she wasn't in her home with a family friend - she was in a bar with a man twice her age looking for what? Mentoring? At night? In a bar?
Sure, the guy is pretty creepy, but I still think she put out expecting to get into med school and failed. (Continued…)
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