A U.S. Army staff sergeant stationed at Fort Huachuca was ordered Wednesday to serve 34 years in state prison without the possibility of early release for engaging in sexual contact 50 times with a female family member under the age of 15.
Justin Alexander Copeland was sentenced Sept. 11 to two consecutive 17-year prison terms after Judge Laura Cardinal split the 50 counts into two sentences. He must serve the full 34 years, minus 159 days already spent in the Cochise County jail, because the victim’s age makes Copeland ineligible for early release programs.
Copeland, 34, was found guilty in April of molesting the girl between June 2016 to December 2017 by placing his hand on her breasts, buttocks, or vagina. The girl testified the contact was always on top of her clothes, and that she never touched Copeland, nor was she touched in another manner during any of the incidents.
In a brief comment prior to sentencing, Copeland maintained his innocence and thanked his parents and other family members for their support. His court-appointed attorney Joshua Jones then argued in support of one 10-year sentence, the minimum allowed by law.
The girl, through her mother, took no position on Copeland’s sentence, preferring to leave the decision “to the discretion of the court,” according to Terisha Driggs of the Cochise County Attorney’s Office. However, Driggs sought a sentence of 40 to 80 years, citing Copeland’s “lack of remorse and lack of acceptance of responsibility.”
While imposing sentence, Cardinal said she was “disappointed” by Copeland’s insistence of innocence despite the “profound effect on the child” who thought of Copeland as a father figure for most of her life.
“You will blame anyone but yourself,” the judge said. “You are willing to exploit anyone for your own interest.”
Copeland came under suspicion in late 2017 when the girl told a school employee about being touched. At the time the family was in turmoil due to a pending divorce.
The girl later suggested there may have been more than 400 incidents starting when she was five-years old. But the defense challenged the lack of physical evidence and corroborating eyewitnesses, as well as the lack of details about when and where most of the incidents occurred.
Jurors appear to have believed the girl’s veracity and considered Copeland’s actions after the allegations were made to be indicative of guilt. Those actions included a threat of suicide and a comment that he “may have done something” with the girl but wasn’t sure.
Last month a psychologist testified he only designated Copeland as a pedophile because of the jury’s verdict. Nothing else in Copeland’s history or psychosexual evaluation of sexual interests suggested such tendencies, according to Dr. Paul Simpson.
Copeland will not be supervised on probation or parole once released from prison, but he will have to register as a sex offender and pay a $25,000 fine. His status with the Army is expected to be addressed now that the criminal case is complete.
The Sept. 11 sentencing hearing isn’t the end of Copeland’s legal troubles. He’ll be back in Cardinal’s court later this month for a status conference on charges that he pressed the girl’s mother to get the girl to recant her testimony.