Ex-Hanford biologist sentenced for ‘heinous’ rape after injecting a woman with insulin

A Tri-Cities wildlife biologist was sentenced Friday to a minimum of 12 1/2 years in prison for raping a woman after injecting her with a high dose of insulin.

James E. Bernhard, 41, maintains that he was wrongfully convicted and that he did nothing wrong.

But Judge Alex Ekstrom said he is bound by the January verdict from a Franklin County Superior Court jury, and had to follow state guidelines.

He denied a defense request for a five-year term. Defense attorney Shelley Ajax wanted the judge to consider Bernhard’s lack of criminal history and the fact he called 911 for the victim.

But the judge said those were not legally sufficient reasons for a sentence below the standard range.

Prosecutors recommended a 15-year, 2-month term.

Bernhard was convicted of second-degree rape and second-degree assault, both with domestic violence. The assault also includes the special allegation that it was committed with sexual motivation.

It is a maximum life sentence.

That means Bernhard’s ultimate release, after serving the mandatory minimum term, will be up to a state board upon reviewing his participation in treatment while behind bars and his acknowledgment of his crimes.

Appeal planned

Ajax told the judge on Friday she plans to file a motion, both for a new trial and to set aside the verdict and judgment, based on juror misconduct. She said she was approached after the trial by alternate jurors who believed Bernhard did not do it and should not have been convicted.

Ajax also claimed that it was vindictive prosecution.

The jury deliberated for 20 hours. The panel was almost deadlocked at one point, but jurors “decided of their own volition” to continue, said Deputy Prosecutor Maureen Astley.

Jurors were unable to reach a unanimous verdict on a charge of first-degree assault. But it’s not known how they voted.

Judge Ekstrom said the jury left the courthouse immediately after the verdicts were announced so that even he did not have the opportunity to talk with them.

Often, a trial judge and the attorneys will meet with jurors once it is all done to answer questions.

Victim uncooperative

Bernhard had worked at the Hanford nuclear reservation when he was arrested more than four years ago.

He declined to participate in his presentencing investigation report or to make a statement in court Friday.

But Community Corrections Officer Jose Sabalsa noted in his report that Bernhard appeared to be angry and withdrawn when he tried to speak with him back in February.

“I tried helping with the investigation and this is where it got me,” Bernhard told Sabalsa.

The victim did not attend the hearing, but spoke with Sabalsa in advance of Bernhard’s sentencing. She did not cooperate with investigators or prosecutors.

“I don’t believe he did this,” she told the officer for the presentencing report. “It was taken way out of proportion and he was taken advantage of for some reason, I’m not quite sure.”

The woman initially told police that she was in “great fear” of her attacker. But she later denied Bernhard did anything wrong, and testified on his behalf during the trial.

Significant blood loss

Paramedics responded to a Pasco home at 3:30 a.m. April 11, 2016, to find the woman in the shower bleeding profusely with bruises on her face and head.

Her blood-sugar level reportedly was so low that it did not register on a paramedic’s meter.

What initially was believed to be a diabetic episode led to emergency surgery to stop the bleeding after Kadlec Regional Medical Center doctors discovered severe sexual assault cuts.

Medical staff said she lost about half of the blood in her body.

The woman told investigators at the time that she believed she was injected with an excess amount of insulin while sleeping. That left her vulnerable and defenseless in a coma-like state, Astley said at trial.

Bernhard claimed he had been sleeping and awoke to the woman having a seizure while in the shower.

His lawyer had told jurors that the woman suffered from diabetes, alcoholism and other medical issues, and failed to take care of herself.

Egregious injuries

In court Friday, Astley said “this case was unlike any other case I’ve ever seen” in her 11 years of practicing law.

She described the victim’s injuries as egregious and Bernhard’s actions as heinous.

In trying to understand why jurors convicted on second-degree assault but not first-degree, Astley previously said they likely believed Bernhard intended to inject the woman, but did not intend to hurt her as bad as he did.

Ajax, in asking for a reduced sentence of five years, said the court should use common sense and some practical consideration.

“I believe that five years is more than adequate for the injuries sustained and for the allegations that were made here,” she said, “whether I agree with the jury or not, which I believe the court is fully aware I do not.”

Several people, including Bernhard’s father, addressed the court and asked for leniency for him. They described Bernhard as a “good, honest person” who has been a productive citizen and will continue to be, but was delivered “a grave misjustice.”