It seems as if the Ed Kramer saga has finally come to an end. The DragonCon co-founder has pleaded guilty to three of six counts of child molestation.
Over the weekend, we mentioned the split announced back in July, was finally official. DragonCon had cut ties with one of its co-founders, a man accused of child molestation, by buying him out and creating a new corporation for the fan event. According to Robot6, “Kramer initially rejected the offer, which led the board to sue him in August; DragonCon spokesman Greg Euston told Atlanta magazine the out-of-court settlement calls for Kramer to be paid a ‘small amount over’ what the company had offered.”
This all went down just before jury selection began for Kramer’s trial but the man who had been using health issues to avoid court since his initial arrest in 2000 decided to plead guilty instead of having to face the as yet named jury.
“Kramer entered guilty pleas to three of six counts of child molestation on the original indictment — one for each alleged victim — with the state offering not to prosecute the other three,” reports The Gwinnett Daily Post. “Under the nine-condition agreement, District Attorney Danny Porter recommended a sentence of 20 years to serve five for each count, to run concurrently. Because of 26 months previously served in the Gwinnett County jail and while incarcerated in Connecticut, Kramer will actually serve 34 months.”
Though Kramer’s sentence will not be served in jail, but in his home. The judge likely placed him under house arrest due to his health but the article wasn’t specific in that regard. Also according to the GDP, “Kramer was also ordered to pay $100,000 restitution to each of the three victims in the case, due to be paid by July 31, 2014. He will be a sex offender for life and forbidden to interact with any person under the age of 16.”
Considering Kramer had been fighting so long, the guilty plea comes as a bit of a surprise but not an unwelcome one for those convinced of his guilt during that time.
(via Robot6)
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