NORWICH – A man convicted of molesting his granddaughter apologized to the court and his family Monday, but did not apologize to the victim or admit his guilt.
Delbert Shofkom, 68, was found guilty of first degree attempted rape for accosting his granddaughter on at least one occasion and forcing her into sexual encounters on several other occasions beginning in November 2004.
Monday, he appeared before County Court Judge W. Howard Sullivan to receive his final sentence and was ordered to state prison for seven years.
Shofkom read a written letter to the court wherein he apologized for initially blaming the court and District Attorney’s Office for his conviction. “I’m presently under a lot of stress right now and through the trial. I apologize for remarks made about the court. I thought I was doing the right thing, but now I see, I admit, to being too strict,” said Shofkom.
The defendant continued to read the letter admitting he favored the boys over his granddaughter and that he was too heavy handed with them.
“I respect the system and I believe in it,” said Shofkom.
Sullivan responded by saying, “This whole matter isn’t about being too strict. A jury of 12 people who don’t know you and were carefully selected by the defense as well as the prosecution decided unanimously that you were guilty of the charges.”
Sullivan went on to point out that Shofkom’s own grandson testified that he witnessed him accosting the young girl and that she has been attending hours of therapy. Sullivan also told the court that he received a letter from the victim asking for “family healing.”
“The only way I can see that happening is by acknowledgment, treatment and empathy from you for the victim,” said Sullivan.
The judge criticized the family, which spilt itself on opposite sides of the court room and remarked on how the father of the victim sat on the grandfather’s side.
“This is a classic case of sexual abuse. All the things that have happened reflect that. Dad, you can’t straddle the fence, you’ve got to support your daughter. I understand you want to keep the family peace and you love your daughter, but you can’t do both and you need to love your daughter,” said Sullivan.
The judge also noted that the victim said in her letter that she felt bad about sending her grandfather to prison because he had suffered a heart attack at the jail. “I looked into that. It never happened. This is a ploy to make (victim’s name) feel more guilty. Whether it was through you (the defendant) or a family member, however it got back to her.”
“(She) is a victim in more ways than one here. She has become a victim of family guilt. The family can choose to believe what they want, to believe (victim’s name) or she can move on with her life,” said Sullivan.
In all, Shofkom was convicted in September of five felonies. The others included second degree criminal sex act, two counts of third degree criminal sex act, second degree sexual abuse and endangering the welfare of a child.
Shofkom was remanded to the county jail pending his transfer to a New York State Prison.