Rapist gets 15 to life
Nichols says he’s no monster
By PETER BOLTZ
Express Staff Writer
Admitted kidnapper and rapist Todd Nichols was sentenced to 15 years to
life from Fifth District Court Judge James May on Monday.
May said he took into consideration the viciousness of the crimes and the
"two hours of terror" and fear of death that Nichols put the victim through.
Nichols had pleaded guilty to a Nov. 26, 1999 kidnapping and rape in a
plea agreement. That agreement, according to Blaine County Prosecutor Doug Werth, was for
a concurrent sentence of 15 years to life in the state penitentiary on the charge of
kidnapping and two charges of rape.
Werth said in an interview that the sentence means Nichols will spend 15
years in prison before he would be considered for parole. It also means that a parole
board could keep Nichols imprisoned for life.
In addition, Nichols was fined $5,000, and, if he ever is released on
parole, he must register as a sex offender wherever he lives.
Before he was sentenced, the court heard final arguments from Werth,
defense attorney Douglas Nelson and Nichols.
Werth dismissed any thought of a lesser sentence based on Nelson’s
claim that his client was suffering from idiosyncratic alcohol intoxication. That is, that
Nichols reacted to alcohol in such a way that he had no control over his actions.
Instead, Werth described what he called a "horrific crime."
Nichols, he said, strangled the victim until she fell unconscious. Then he
dragged her into his car where she regained consciousness and pleaded with Nichols to let
her go. Instead he assaulted her every time she tried to get out of the car.
Once Nichols had brought her to a cabin where he was staying, Werth said,
he raped her despite her pleas to be let go.
Werth asked the court to ignore the defense’s argument that there was
a "normal Todd versus a monster Todd" on account of his reaction to alcohol.
Werth said, "The normal Todd is the monster Todd."
Defense attorney Nelson, however, argued that a person could commit a
"heinous crime and not be a heinous person," and described instances when
Nichols showed he was no monster.
In his statement, Nichols told the court that he understood the charges
against him, but he repeated several times throughout his presentation, "I wish I
knew what happened, but I don’t."
He told the court that since he was imprisoned, he’s "worked on
being a better person and hope to be of use to society and a great contributor to the
community."
"This has taught me that I need to grow up," he said. "I
hope the court can forgive me and not look at me as a monster."
