BENNINGTON – A Bennington man convicted in July of four of five charges, including felony kidnapping and aggravated domestic battery during a two-day jury trial in Bennington, was sentenced Friday to nearly a dozen years in prison in as a victim and a dozen supporters. watched.

The charges stemmed from three separate incidents of domestic assault that took place between May 2023 and early June 2024. He was found guilty by a jury of six men and six women after deliberating for two and a half hours in July , on four of those five counts – felony aggravated domestic battery, misdemeanor domestic battery, one count of felony unlawful restraint and one count of felony kidnapping. Stevens was found not guilty of one count of unlawful restraint after the jury struggled over the length of one of the incidents.

On Friday, Jesse Stevens was sentenced to 8-19 years in prison – to serve, meaning Stevens must spend at least the next eight years behind bars, minus time already served since his June arrest. He was given a sentence of 2 years-six months to 6 years for the aggravated domestic assault conviction, a 6-12 month sentence for domestic assault, a sentence of 2 years-6 months to six years for confinement illegal. conviction and a term of 2 years, six months to 6 years on the kidnapping charge. All four sentences will run consecutively. He will then be on long term post-custody supervision for the 19 years. He will also be required to attend anger and domestic violence treatment in prison.

Judge Kerry McDonald-Cady handed down the long sentence after telling Stevens and the victim, Tori Stevens, who was married for 11 years to Jesse Stevens and stood in the front row surrounded by a dozen supporters, her reasoning for the long sentence . Included in this reasoning was that Stevens was at high risk of further violence, according to a court-ordered risk assessment, that there was still a threat to the community and the victim, her belief that the level of violence committed by Stevens was “scary” that Stevens denied all charges at trial, actually blaming the victim for the incidents. She also said that any future intimate partner that Mr. Stevens has him in the future is exposed to an “imminent risk” of physical violence.

“The court finds that given the extreme level of violence committed by Mr. Stevens, the high risk of recidivism, given the control of domestic violence, a high level of supervision is necessary to ensure that the public is safe when he is released from correctional facility,” Judge McDonald Cady said.

As the judge reviewed the separate murders and violent incidents on the bench before announcing his decision, Stevens could be seen each time shaking his head back and forth and, in one instance, glancing back at the seated victim behind him. After completing his review, Judge McDonald Cady was ready to hand down his sentence.

“Mr Stevens, you controlled, beat and terrorized the victim,” Judge McDonald-Cady said. “The victim’s own words were hurtful. ‘I knew I shouldn’t fight back,’ she said. Mr Stevens’ threats to kill her were caught on video showing one of the beatings in May 2023. The video was both shocking and despicable. This court finds that a sentence of probation is not appropriate in this case when considering the totality of the violence involved was a pattern of control by Mr. Stevens for many years, which ended with these three incidents. The most chilling of which was the video evidence of Mr. Stevens taking down the video surveillance cameras in and out of the house before he strangled himself. the victim. His actions show his plan to use violence against the victim and his desire not to be caught doing so.”

She then announced a long prison sentence as Stevens stared straight ahead. As the judge finished and left the bench, Stevens turned to the back of the courtroom and stared at his ex-wife for several seconds in what appeared to be an effort to intimidate the victim, before a victim’s advocate sitting next to she to shout: he to “turn back”. A court officer then physically blocked Stevens from the victim’s view. Seconds later, Stevens was escorted out of the courtroom to begin his sentence.

“One word … relief,” victim Tori Stevens said after the hearing. “I hope he gets the help he needs so he never hurts anyone again.”

According to a police affidavit, on Tuesday, June 4, 2024, a Bennington police officer responded to 1655 Middle Valley Road for a report of a neighbor who called 911 after hearing “a lot of screaming and noises coming from the residence”. A second caller also called police after they arrived at the residence to find Stevens outside, naked and on top of a bleeding female victim. Four minors, including Tori Stevens’ children, witnessed the attack.

Officers arrived and found the victim sitting on the front steps of the residence crying. He had both hands holding a paper towel up to his left eye and a “massive” bite mark on his shoulder. The victim told police Stevens punched her in the face. Around the same time, Stevens came out of the residence and approached police, telling them he was not mentally well and was having “these episodes.” Tori Stevens, in a relationship with Stevens for 11 years and married for nine of those years, told police her husband insisted she was lying and cheating on him. When asked how often this happens, she said, “More often than I care to admit.”

During their initial investigation, police learned of a previous incident on June 1.

The additional kidnapping charge stemmed from prosecutors receiving surveillance video showing another earlier attack on the victim in May 2023, in which Stevens grabbed several steak knives and threatened to harm himself while straddling the floor as she tried to escape over a 20-year-old. – duration of minutes. In a video played for the jury, Stevens can be seen straddling the victim with his hands on her neck with a knife in his hand.

Stevens faced a possible life sentence on the kidnapping charge alone. He faced a potential 15 years on the aggravated domestic assault charge, an additional 18 months on the misdemeanor domestic assault charge and an additional 15 years on the unlawful restraint charge. Stevens still faces misdemeanor charges of retail theft and petit larceny from a May 2024 incident at Walmart in Bennington.

“We appreciate that the jury found justice for the victim and the victim herself found the courage to step forward. We hope this sentence sends a message to abusers that this kind of behavior is not ok and more importantly it sends a message to victims that it doesn’t have to be this way.”

When asked what she could tell other victims of domestic abuse who are still with their abusers, Tori Stevens told the Banner after the jury found Jesse Stevens guilty that, first and foremost, they have to trust their instincts.

“Be true to yourself and don’t be afraid to confide in any safe person you might have. Please ask for help.”

The banner asked for permission to use her name which she granted.

If you are a victim of domestic violence, please call 911 or contact your local police department, sheriff’s office, state police or domestic abuse prevention organization for help.

Contact the local Bennington Police Department (802-442-1030) or Project Against Violent Encounters (PAVE) Bennington at (802-442-2370) or www.pavebennington.org