Emmanuel T. Bile Jr. sentenced Wednesday morning for involvement in 2012 gang rape
April 2, 2015
NORTHAMPTON – Emmanuel T. Bile Jr. was sentenced to eight to 10 years in state prison followed by five years of probation Wednesday morning for his involvement in the 2012 gang rape of a University of Massachusetts freshman.
Bile was found guilty by a jury Monday afternoon of two of three counts of aggravated rape.
Bile, wearing a light gray button-down shirt and khaki pants, was led into the courtroom in handcuffs and remained emotionless as Judge Jeffrey C. Kinder announced his sentence. Before the sentencing, Kinder heard recommendations from both the prosecution and the defense, as well as an impact statement from the victim.
The victim, wearing a beige sweater and maroon pants, began crying before finishing the first sentence and trembled as she read the prepared statement off a piece of paper.
She described how after the incident, she couldn’t be in social settings without paranoia and couldn’t bear to stay at UMass.
“An incredible emptiness and sadness took over my life,” she said.
“I thought Emmanuel was my friend,” she continued, adding that he treated her like “less than a human or an animal, but an object he could do whatever he wanted with.
“I hope in the future people will recognize the tragedy of rape,” she said.
Assistant Northwestern District Attorney Jennifer Suhl recommended a sentence of 10 to 12 years in state prison for the first count of aggravated rape and five years of probation with special conditions for the third count.
“These are some of the worst acts we can imagine in our society,” she said, adding Bile committed them when the victim was at her most vulnerable. Furthermore, she said he and the other three man accused of gang raping the victim played a role in making her that vulnerable by repeatedly passing her a bottle of vodka.
Suhl said Bile showed a “lack of remorse” or understanding about what he did.
Defense Attorney David A. Pixley asked for a sentence of 4½ to 8½ years in state prison, saying Bile had no juvenile record, didn’t violate the conditions of his pre-trial release and showed up for all court dates.
Pixley asked Judge Kinder to consider that Bile was just 18 years old at the time of the incident, and that he will “be in the public eye of the community wherever he goes” after his release.
Pixley also asked Kinder to consider the involvement of peer pressure in the incident, as well as his intoxication and his “not fully developed” mind.
Before the sentencing, Kinder thanked the victim for her statement.
“No one can experience the emotional trauma of what you experienced without having lived it,” he said. He called the incident “every parent’s worst nightmare,” both for the victim and the defendant.
Before making his decision, Kinder said he considered Bile’s youth and lack of criminal history, but said there were “aggravating factors, as well.”
Kinder said Bile abused the victim’s trust, watched his friends rape her and then joined in. When he was finished, Kinder said, he left her there.
“Perhaps most disturbing was after sober reflection he showed no remorse,” Kinder said.
Assistant Northwestern District Attorney Steven E. Gagne told reporters outside the courthouse he was “pleased with the sentencing.”
“It is commensurate with the horrific facts of the case,” he said.
Gagne said the other three men involved – Adam Liccardi, 20, Justin King, 21, both of Pittsfield, and Caleb Womack, 20, of Windsor Locks, Connecticut – are all on the April trial schedule.
“By all accounts, the victim is prepared to testify as many times as needed,” Gagne said.
Aviva Luttrell can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @AvivaLuttrell. Nick Canelas can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @NickCanelas.
Kris • Apr 6, 2015 at 7:13 pm
I concede, Ed. It appeared you were referencing the four rapists, not the females they were with earlier.
Ed • Apr 8, 2015 at 4:57 am
There is something in this that is the proverbial “fire siren in the night” — there are things which don’t make sense here; things which are screaming inconsistencies with standard practices and protocols. I know the protocols because I helped write some of them.
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An intrepid Collegian reporter might want to inquire as to when AND HOW UMass learned of the rape. The “when” is known — a specific time the next evening, and while there wasn’t something in the ambulance log that I would have expected to see, there was something else that I very much did not expect to see, something quite disturbing. Something consistent with vague statements UMass made back in 2012 — and releasing one piece of information about her that they should never have released makes sense if UM was trying to hide something far bigger.
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This is something — if it happened and Bile’s lawyers weren’t told of it — big enough to get his conviction reversed. That doesn’t mean bile’s not guilty — a point to be remembered when some of the death row murder convictions are reversed — only that the prosecution didn’t play by the rules, which is pretty much how Angela Davis avoided prison.
There are other things I don’t like here — I’ve never heard of a rape victim asking for hush money before, there are issues with the other women, there is a lot of *something else* just below the surface here.
Kris • Apr 6, 2015 at 5:36 pm
Ed, 10 minutes AFTER you wrote your comment on the article about how Bile got sentenced to 8 to 10 years, you commented on an article about the (formerly) ongoing trial, saying that they wouldn’t face charges, although PERHAPS they should have. There is a transcript of the texts that were sent back and forth, in which Bile basically admits guilt. You are a moron.
Ed • Apr 6, 2015 at 6:48 pm
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?!?!?!?
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The “they” referenced three WOMEN who — to the best of my knowledge, have not been charged with anything.
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Please explain how this is — in any way – related to Bile’s trial, let alone the verdict thereof.
Hint: It isn’t.
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As an aside though, I must contrast the trial of Emmanuel Bile Jr. to the trial of Jason Vassell — except that Vassell never went to trial. UMass Professors essentially threatened to burn Northampton flat, SATF money was essentially given to Vassel, and the Judge was adjunct UMass faculty — amongst other things. So even though Vassell had sliced, diced, and nearly killed two unarmed kids on video (I’ve seen it), even though it was three BLACK administrators who made the decision to expel Vassell (JoAnne Vanin, Esther Terry & Tom Cole) even though Professor Terry had been the chair of AfroAm *and* Director of EO&D before being asked to delay her retirement and be interim VC/STUAF, even though it was a BLACK cop who initially said that “it [looked] like a drug deal: (an officer who had been a UM student majoring in — AfroAm theater) — even though all of this was true, cries about the injustice done to Vassell nearly tore the space/time continuum.
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Both Vassell and Bile were drunk. Both were young Black men accused of committing a very violent crime. In both cases, there was some pretty damning evidence of the young man’s guilt — objective physical evidence.
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So why no “Justice for Bile” movement on campus?
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The UMPD is suddenly now no longer racist (as “Justice for Jason” accused if of being), the court system is now somehow suddenly now fair to young black men (ibid) — the criminal justice system suddenly is no longer racist?
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Ed • Apr 5, 2015 at 12:25 am
Bottom line: They may have given her the Vodka, but she chose to drink it. If she hadn’t, she’d been able to tell those schmucks to get the hell out of her room — and/or gotten some people in there to help her get them out of there.
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Reality 101: There are bad people in this world, and if you choose to make yourself helpless, you won’t be able to defend yourself against them — so why would you want to do so?
Bob • Apr 1, 2015 at 10:41 pm
Samantha Mason, the student who signed in these four rapists should not be let off the hook. She avoided the trial, appearing on video tape, while enjoying a semester abroad. This whole event might have been avoided if these creeps were not signed in. These weekend “visitors” continue to arrive in Amherst to have a crazy weekend at UMASS, vandalizing, puking all over the dorms, giving the school a bad rep. People like Mason, who vouch for these type of visitors need to be held accountable. I’m sure the victim will be suing her. Maybe that will be her punishment.