Post by bobthebuilder on Oct 18, 2016 0:05:49 GMT
Home invasion, victim bound, blindfolded, disguised voice, ski mask, gun to the temple, children left sleeping (no eating, as far as we are aware)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkROTULKuCE
www.waterburyobserver.org/node/191
www.imdb.com/title/tt2375772/
I assume he has been ruled out by DNA
Reign of Terror Over, John Regan Incarcerated For 15 Years
(Editor's note - the following story is an account of October 26th, in Waterbury Superior Court, when John Regan was sentenced to 15 years in prison for kidnapping, stalking and unlawful restraint. The court system referred to the two women that Regan had raped, or assaulted, as Victim #1 and Victim #2. The Observer has followed the story of Victim #1 for five years. We have published four front page stories about her quest for justice, and the bizarre twist and turns that veered off into a legal showdown with Waterbury police, In the previous four stories we referred to her, and her husband, as Rachael and Bob. That practice will continue in the following story.
In her quest for justice Rachael tangled with corrupt police officers who threatened to arrest her and take her children away. She battled with indifferent city officials and weathered a barrage of insensitive and slanted reports published in the Republican-American newspaper in 2001.Eventually the pain and hurt of the rape was dwarfed by her anger at a system that questioned her character, and threatened to destroy her with innuendo. Battling back, she sued the Waterbury Police Department and jammed a flashlight into a darkened corner of police misconduct. In 2001 a jury awarded her $190,000 in damages. The lawsuit ultimately led to policy changes inside the Waterbury Police Department and how its officers respond to sexual assault cases.
Rachael had been raped in her Overlook home, on September 11, 1993 by a masked intruder. During the attack the rapist jammed the barrel of a revolver into her mouth, and then pressed it against her temple. With her two children sleeping down the hallway, Rachael had prayed out loud and asked God for absolution.
The rapist flipped her over, stuck the gun into her back, and told her "If you call the pigs I'll come back and kill you."
With a pillowcase over her head, and her hands bound behind her back by nylons, Rachael lay on her bed and listened to the rapist walk down the stairs and out the front door.
Now, thirteen years later, on October 26th, 2006, the rapist stood before a judge in Waterbury Superior Court, and Rachael sat 15 feet away. The rapist had remained anonymous for 11 years until excellent work by Waterbury Police Chief, Neil O'Leary, had cracked the case in October 2004.
With the help of a perfect DNA match the rapist's mask had been torn off and his identity had left Rachael, and Waterbury, stunned. One of her husband's good friends, John Regan, was the monster who broke into her home and sexually assaulted her. It was the first night her husband Bob had been away from home in 12 years, and Regan knew that.
Regan was the son of a prominent Waterbury family - a local elementary school was named after his grandfather - and he was married to a second grade teacher. Regan was also the father of three children and a manager of a local roofing company.
The night before the encounter with John Regan in Superior Court, Rachael spoke with the Observer about her long struggle for truth.
"Right now this is all so surreal," she said. "It's been such a long road. 13 years. I'm really happy the day has finally come. It's what we've been waiting for all these years."
But the thought of seeing Regan again was unnerving.
"It will be difficult to see him," she said. "But he doesn't have the power now, he will be in shackles. He is a convicted felon and now he is the one bound, not me. That's empowering."
She has been trapped between two worlds for 13 years. Today is the day she can step out of the winter landscape. Today is the day she hopes she can put John Regan in her rearview mirror.
At 11:27 Regan pled guilty to three charges, including kidnapping, stalking and unlawful restraint - all under the Alford Doctrine - which allowed him to plead guilty while not agreeing to the charges. Regan understood the state had enough evidence to convict him on all three charges, and that if he took the case to trial, and lost, he would receive a harsher sentence (36 years), than the deal his lawyers worked out with John Connelly (15 years).
After finishing the account of Regan's crime against Rachael. Lipsky began reading the account of Regan's crime against a former co-worker he assaulted and stalked. In the middle of that account the fire alarm blared and the courthouse was cleared for 20 minutes.
In the line to go back into the court two boisterous young women behind Rachael got into a verbal confrontation about cutting in line, and a marshal threatened to arrest the women if they didn't quiet down.
Upon returning to her seat, Rachael turned to her family and friends and said "unbelievable", shook her head, and smiled. Rachael, who was referred to as victim #1 in court proceedings, sat next to victim #2, the former co-worker of Regan's.
The prosecution picked up from where it had been before the fire alarm, and Robin Lipsky continued to describe Regan's crimes against victim #2. Judge Alexander leaned forward, listened with sharp attention, and rested her chin in her hand, her brow furrowed. Regan was alert with his head slightly bowed as he listened to the prosecution describe his assault of victim #2, and his subsequent stalking of her.
Police in Saratoga Springs, NY, had found photographs of both victim #2, and Rachael, in Regan's van when he had been arrested for attempting to kidnap a high school student last Halloween.
After the accounts of Regan's crimes were read into the record, Judge Alexander addressed Regan and asked if he disagreed with some, or all, of the facts. Regan said, "That's true."
Judge Alexander explained that by pleading guilty and accepting the agreement under the Alford Doctrine he would be sentenced to 15 years in Connecticut rather than risk a more serious sentence if convicted after a trial.
Regan, a short stocky man with a bull neck, was a former wrestler at Holy Cross High School in Waterbury. His short cropped hair was a mix of blond, gray and brown, and swirled around a noticeable bald spot on the crown of his head.
Judge Alexander explained to Regan that a sample of his blood would be taken and sent to the state police lab and entered into DNA data banks. Some people, including Dr. Henry Lee, have stated in public that there is reason to suspect John Regan is guilty of many more crimes than he has been charged with.
Dr. Lee spoke at a DNA press conference in November 2005 and said "John Regan fits the profile of a serial rapist. We think there are many other kidnapping cases he was involved in.". Once his DNA is entered into local, regional and national data banks there is a possibility Regan will be charged with additional crimes. Last year after his bold attempt to abduct the cross-country star in Saratoga Springs, a regional task force was formed to investigate Regan's movements during the past 30 years, and police attempted to link him to unsolved rapes and murders.
With Regan behind bars, the motivation for digging through the cold case files is not strong.
In the letter, victim #2 told the court that she had experienced posttraumatic stress after the assault, heart palpitations, and anxiety attacks. She wrote that John Regan had lived a double life, and she feared if he was given the opportunity that he would attack again. She said Regan had come after her twice and she feared for her life. She asked for a lifetime restraining order to keep Regan away from her.
As the letter was read in court Regan looked straight ahead, emotionless, and 15 feet behind him his young victim sat shaking and crying.
Rachael was supposed to go next, but her husband, Bob, decided he wanted to address the court. For thirteen years Bob has been tormented by Regan's brutal assault on his wife. A former UConn football player, Bob has fought demons to control his rage. Every instinct in his body screamed revenge. On the first night he'd left his family alone in 12 years of marriage, one of his best friends broke into his home and raped his wife.
It was a violation so extreme, so hideous, that it shattered that place in Bob and Rachael where trust and well being reside. Bob's family, and the Waterbury police, counseled him to resist his urge to settle the score with John Regan. And against almost every fiber of his body - he did. But it wasn't the warnings from friends and family that stopped Bob from taking justice into his own hands. It was his spirituality.
"My husband had a choice to make," Rachael said. " He could settle the score, but he would relinquish his soul. In the end it was his spiritual strength that kept him from acting out.". But now, finally, Bob had the opportunity to express himself, and within seconds he infused the proceedings with fire and passion. With his voice filling the courtroom, Bob told Judge Alexander that the day's proceedings "showed what a punk" John Regan was.
"He has no remorse, there has been no apology," Bob said. "His attorney said they have 20 letters saying what a nice guy he is, well I could get 200 saying what a creep he is.". "I have known this man since I was 5 years old," Bob said. "What he did is reprehensible. He has disgraced his family and friends."
Bob urged Judge Alexander to make sure "this creep is kept in prison for as long as possible, because he will hurt again."
Then Rachael stepped forward. Where Bob was raw passion, Rachael was dignified and composed as she made her statement.
"A am the 1993 survivor," she said. "And I believe John Regan's ultimate fate will be determined by God. He is calculated and dangerous, and I pray he never be given another opportunity to hurt another person on this earth as long as he is alive."
As Rachael returned to her seat, Hubie Santos put his arm around John Regan for comfort, but Regan stared straight ahead, emotionless.
Judge Alexander then explained the lifetime criminal restraining orders that both woman have against Regan. He can have no contact with them. He can't be within 100 yards of either woman, or their minor children. He can make no contact in person, by letter or phone, and no one can make contact with the women on his behalf. If Regan violates the court order he can receive a five-year prison sentence.
"This has been a long drawn out process for the victims and there will be serious restrictions upon Mr. Regan upon his release," Judge Alexander said.
She then sentenced John Regan to 15 years in prison for the 1993 kidnapping, 5 years for the unlawful restraint of his former co-worker, and two years for first degree stalking of his former co-worker.