A Charlottesville judge issued a 40-year sentence to a man who pleaded guilty to the 2005 rape of a UVA student. John Henry Agee, 38, will be off the streets, but his victim is still fighting a lawsuit brought by a man she wrongly pointed to as her attacker.
In September 2005, Agee followed the victim, a UVA law student, as she walked home from a party on Jefferson Park Avenue. Agee attacked the 23-year-old woman, dragged her into the woods and raped her (though he maintained that they had consensual sex).
 38-year-old John Henry Agee was sentenced to serve 40 years for the rape of a UVA law student. |
Within hours, police picked up Chris Matthew, a black man who happened to be nearby, and the victim identified him as her attacker. Matthew spent five days in jail and is now seeking $750,000 for the misidentification in a civil suit.
Police charged Agee for the rape last September when his DNA, collected from another felony, matched semen found at the crime scene. Police also found the victim’s panties and earrings in the woods off Sunset Avenue.
Agee pleaded guilty to object sexual penetration, and entered an Alford plea, admitting he could be convicted of rape.
“This offender at this point needs to be disabled and needs to be punished,” said Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Elizabeth Killeen in Charlottesville Circuit Court during his sentencing on January 16.
As a result of the attack, the victim abandoned her scholarship at UVA law to enroll in another school, is living at home with her parents and has had to undergo counseling—counseling she will eventually have to justify to the bar when she seeks membership as an attorney, Killeen said.
Killeen also highlighted the financial strain on the victim from hiring legal counsel and defending Matthew’s lawsuit. Judge Jay T. Swett said he would not consider the civil suit against the victim as a factor in Agee’s sentencing.
Defense attorney Denise Luns-ford argued for lenience—she said Agee had a tough upbring-ing and his records show he has a low IQ and difficulty reading social cues.
Convicts are allowed to say a few words before they are sentenced. Agee said he did not “rape her or harm her at all.” “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry for all this mess,” he said to the victim’s father.
Agee was sentenced to 30 years for object sexual penetration, with 10 suspended, and 40 years for rape, with 10 suspended. He is also ordered to undergo sex offender counseling.