Kincaid man sentenced to 61 years in prison

By Matthew Hill

FAYETTEVILLE — A Kincaid man convicted of 96 sex offenses will spend 61 to 195 years behind bars and owe $6,000 in fines following his sentencing Thursday.

Larry A. Clement, 56, was convicted in January of sex offenses committed against two granddaughters — now 16 and 13 years old — of his former live-in girlfriend in Oak Hill in 2005 and 2006.

Circuit Judge Paul Blake also denied both a motion for a new trial and an application for probation by Pineville lawyer Chuck Mullins, Clement’s attorney. “You can’t treat a sex offender if he won’t admit he’s a sex offender,” Blake observed, noting a “total lack of distress” shown by Clement during his psychological evaluation.

For about five minutes prior to sentencing, Clement delivered an impromptu sermon of sorts, repeatedly asking Blake and those in attendance if they knew “Jesus Christ as your personal savior.” He also appeared to question the judge as to the destination of his soul and pondered whether either of them would be ready to “meet our maker.”

“What sentence would that judge (referring to God) hand out to you (Blake) if you would die today? Angels in heaven are recording all that’s being said and done. I stand before you to be judged today. One day, both of us will stand before a greater Judge,” Clement asserted, citing Bible verses about salvation, damnation and judgment.

Mullins pointed out Clement’s lack of a prior criminal record and described the case as “one of the most difficult” with which he has ever been involved. Mullins referred to what he saw as a quest for vengeance by the victims’ father.

Prosecutor Carl Harris denied such a notion, at least on his part. “I don’t ask for vengeance. I think justice must be served only by his (Clement’s) incarceration. Anything less sends the message that this crime is not serious,” Harris opined, adding Clement has never taken responsibility for his actions.

In seeking a new trial, Mullins recalled Blake had refused during the trial to permit the jury to view videotape of interviews conducted with the girls following Clement’s arrest. The videotape was “essential evidence” for Clement’s defense, Mullins asserted.

Harris was quick to retort that the victims’ testimony on the witness stand during Clement’s trial did not contradict anything they said in their interviews.

Blake sided with Harris’ perspective, stating he would’ve had a “totally different attitude” about jurors viewing the tape had the information provided by the girls on the witness stand contradicted what they said in their interviews.

While Clement’s victims did not attend Thursday’s proceeding, their parents and maternal grandmother were present. The three declined comment afterward but appeared to be elated by Blake’s rulings and the sentence imposed.

Clement’s crimes consisted of various counts of first- and second-degree sexual assault, first-degree sexual abuse and sexual abuse by a parent, guardian or custodian.

— E-mail: mhill@register-herald.com

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