Convicted sex abuser to remain jailed, at least nine more years

Jay Orost, 62, was sentenced Oct. 20 to 15 years to life, with credit for time served — he has been in jail since his arrest in 2017, almost exactly six years before his sentencing.

Orost was found guilty by a jury on Jan. 20, 2022, of two counts of sexual assault, two counts of aggravated and repeated sexual assault, and three counts of lewd and lascivious conduct, all those acts done against a person under age 18 who is his own child, as well as three counts of lewd and lascivious conduct with another child.

Lamoille County deputy state’s attorney Aliena Gerhard, who took a lead role in the trial, said the sentencing was long delayed by Orost’s legal maneuvers in trying to fire his trial lawyer and argue for a re-trial. Friday’s sentencing hearing was also a marathon session, starting at 9 a.m. and wrapping up more than nine hours later.

Gerhard said the sentencing hearing provided Orost’s victims and their friends, families and advocates a chance to speak up, some of them for the first time.

“These victims have been waiting so long,” Gerhard said. “It was a time for the survivors to finally speak, without all the rules that are at trial.”

Gerhard said the two main victims who testified before the jury in January 2022 were also present at the sentencing to lend weight to the punishment, as were two other alleged victims — also family members.

“They’re just such powerful women,” Gerhard said. “All of them who spoke just sent chills through me, and I was in awe of them.”

Gerhard said prosecutors had asked for 40 years to life, arguing Orost “does not deserve one more day of freedom.”

“I’m just glad that for the next eight or nine years they can sleep, knowing he’s not out there,” she said.

Becky Gonyea, executive director of the Clarina Howard Nichols Center, echoed Gerhard’s assessment about the victims’ courage, and said she had also hoped for a longer sentence.

“It has been an honor for our advocates to stand with the survivors in this case over the past six years. What they have experienced is unimaginable. They have demonstrated incredible strength and bravery throughout this case. We hope this sentence brings some closure and healing to the survivors and the broader community,” Gonyea wrote in a statement this week. “We are disappointed that the court did not order a longer sentence for Mr. Orost. He is a dangerous man who has taken no responsibility for his actions. We can only hope that he never has access to harm another human.”

Years of abuse

According to court documents, years of abuse finally came to light in September 2017 when Orost’s daughter, then 17, told her high school guidance counselor she had been sexually, physically and emotionally abused by Orost since she was 10 years old. The counselor contacted the Vermont Department for Children and Families.

Shortly after the original charges were filed, two additional alleged victims came forward in October 2017, and Orost was charged with a dozen additional charges.

One girl, a juvenile friend of the first victim, told investigators Orost would get her drunk and try to kiss and fondle her and get into bed with her.

After he was found guilty by a jury last January — the jury deliberated for only 90 minutes — Orost’s sentencing was originally scheduled for August of last year. It was rescheduled twice, in large part because Orost filed several motions seeking new counsel, judge Michael Harris noted in his decision to deny Orost a new trial.

Orost blamed his lawyer, Robert Sussman, for “ineffective representation” arguing it was a violation of his constitutional rights.

Sussman, for his part, filed a motion in April to withdraw as counsel, stating Orost was attempting to sue him, “apparently on a false theory that I intentionally lost his trial.”

Sussman was replaced with public defender Kirk Williams for the remainder of the pre-sentence investigation.

Harris, in an Oct. 18 motion denying Orost a new trial, called Orost’s new evidence “merely cumulative and/or impeaching.”

In arguing for leniency, Orost described himself as “a handicapped senior citizen in my declining years,” and said that “jail is not the same as the outside world,” and he is constantly picked on, sometimes even by the prison guards.

“Survival of the fittest rules,” he wrote in a Feb. 3 filing. “A small, older, handicapped man with a high voice is like a rabbit among wolves.”

Some of Orost’s family members — not those he was found guilty of abusing — also pleaded for leniency due to Orost’s failing health, with one family member saying, “a long sentence for Jay will probably turn out to be a life sentence for him.”

Gerhard’s argument against Orost’s pleas was more succinct.

“Once again, Defendant seeks to delay sentencing, resulting in further delay of justice and closure for his victims,” Gerhard wrote on Feb. 17, adding the prosecutors declined to engage with Orost “on his spurious claims.”

Gonyea said coverage of sexual and domestic assault crimes can have a deleterious effect on survivors and urged anyone experiencing such violence to reach out to the Clarina Howard Nichols Center.

“We recognize that the community has a right to know about this and other horrific crimes in our community. We also recognize that the re-telling of the details of these crimes in the media can re-victimize the survivors and can deter other survivors from reaching out for help,” Gonyea wrote. “If you are now, or have in the past, experienced domestic or sexual violence, our advocates at the Clarina Howard Nichols Center are available to support you. You are not alone, and we believe you. Whether you want a listening ear, information about resources, or to report a crime, we can help. Our confidential hotline is available 24/7, at 802-888-5256.”