CHEYENNE, WY - A federal judge on Friday sentenced former Campbell County fire chief Gary Scott to serve more than 24 years in prison on 10 felony convictions of taking children under the age of 18 across state lines to sexually molest them.



Scott molested many of his victims while they were in a children's fire cadet program he started after Campbell County hired him as chief in 1991. Prosecutors say the abuse continued until his arrest last August. He pleaded guilty in March.

While Scott expressed regret, U.S. District Judge Clarence Brimmer ruled that he had violated his position of trust over the victims. Brimmer said the breach of trust demanded that Scott receive a penalty harsher than the nearly 22 years in prison spelled out in federal sentencing guidelines.

Brimmer told Scott there was no way to minimize the effect of his actions on "perhaps dozens of young men and women who were children when they were sexually abused by you."

Some of the victims told Brimmer in court Friday that they live daily with feelings of shame and hatred from the abuse Scott inflicted on them. Others talked to the judge in a closed session in his office.

Scott, 54, a slight man wearing yellow jail clothing and shackles, sat with his head bowed at a table in the courtroom. He frequently held his face in his hands.

One young man told the judge that he was a molested by Scott 10 years ago, when he was a 13-year-old member of the fire cadet program.

"I want to say, every day I have to think about this," he said. "I would like the maximum sentence he could possibly get. It's not fair that every day I have to think about this and he doesn't."

The victim said the molestation made him question whether he was homosexual. He said didn't speak up at the time because he felt he couldn't take on the chief of the fire department.

Another victim, also now a young man, said he was molested by Scott at age 12, after he had been sent to perform community service at the fire department.

"You had a wife and a child you will probably never get to hold in your arms," the man told Scott. "You will never get to eat a steak perfectly seasoned, or go fishing. Your only friend will be a bug you have found out in the rec yard."

Jim Anderson, assistant U.S. attorney, urged Brimmer to find that Scott's offenses were so severe that they merited 30 years in prison, a steep increase from federal sentencing guidelines.

"This is one of the most serious cases I have ever prosecuted where death isn't involved," Anderson said. "I think that Gary Scott needs to be punished for the hurt, abuse and trauma that he was perpetrating over those 16 years in Gillette."

Dr. William Heineke, a psychologist at the Community Health Center in Gillette, testified for the prosecution that he's currently treating a 14-year-old boy who was molested by Scott until Scott was arrested last year.

Heineke said Scott abused the boy seven times over 18 months. He said the boy never came forward because he didn't think people would believe him.

Heineke said adolescent males are often reluctant to mention sexual abuse because they fear others will decide that such incidents mean they're weak or homosexual. He said many male victims refuse to seek treatment.

Cheyenne lawyer Terry Harris, the defense attorney representing Scott, had asked Brimmer to sentence Scott to 12 years and six months in prison.

"Make no mistake; they're terrible crimes," Harris said of Scott's behavior. But Harris noted that Scott is 54 years old and needs to have some hope of getting out of prison.

"Hope is the necessary condition of mankind," Harris said.

Scott himself told Brimmer that he was ashamed of his actions and ashamed to have violated the trust of people who were his friends. He asked for forgiveness from his victims who testified in court.

"I led them into believing that some of those actions were normal, youthful experiences," he said. "Deep down, I knew my actions were wrong."

Harris said in court that Scott also faces state charges in Campbell County. Harris said after the court hearing that the charges are sealed. Prosecutor Bill Edelman of the Campbell County Attorney's Office declined to comment Friday.