Liberty plea denied

Marisa O’Neil

Letters from supporters of a Corona del Mar woman, decrying her

conviction on felony charges that she molested a teenage girl, didn’t

convince a judge to let her out of jail Friday while she awaits

sentencing.

An attorney for Victoria Hawlish submitted to the court volumes of

letters in support of the mother of two, who was scheduled to be

sentenced Friday on three felony counts of attempted lewd acts on a

minor. But the letters, including a lengthy note from Hawlish’s

husband, gave the impression that the family’s ties to the community

were loosening and that the family’s ability to move had increased,

Orange County Superior Court Judge Carla M. Singer said.

Many of the letters called the conviction a “travesty” and a

“miscarriage of justice,” Singer said.

“It appears to me that attitude gives the court cause for

concern,” Singer said.

A standing-room-only group of onlookers crowded into the small

11th-floor courtroom in anticipation of Hawlish’s sentencing. Many

gave words of support to her husband, Jeff Hawlish.

Victoria Hawlish, wearing navy blue prison scrubs and orange

tennis shoes and her hair pulled back in a small bun, sobbed as a

bailiff brought her in the courtroom.

She raised her cuffed hands to her face and crossed her manicured

fingers as she looked at her husband.

A group of women in the courtroom sobbed as they watched.

Defense attorney Albert DeBlanc Jr. asked the judge to postpone

Friday’s scheduled sentencing to allow his client more time to work

with a psychologist. If reports from the psychologist and probation

department were favorable to Hawlish, Singer said, she might consider

probation for the 41-year-old woman.

But on Friday, Singer said she was inclined to deny probation

based on what she’d seen so far.

DeBlanc argued that Victoria Hawlish was not a predator or a risk

to the community.

“She realizes now is the time to change her life, and she has done

that,” he said. “She lived outside the boundaries and recognizes that

now and is humbled.”

Prosecutors believe Victoria Hawlish inappropriately touched a

15-year-old girl on numerous occasions while the girl was living in

Hawlish’s Corona del Mar home. She repeatedly crossed the line of

appropriate behavior, Deputy Dist. Atty. Jana Hoffmann said during

the trial in March.

DeBlanc countered that his client, a former stripper, was simply

an outgoing woman who was comfortable with her sexuality.

A jury found Victoria Hawlish not guilty of five counts of lewd

acts with a minor. They did, however, find her guilty of three counts

of attempted lewd acts with a minor, a felony.

She faces nearly three years in prison, but could also get

probation.

Victoria Hawlish is scheduled to be sentenced June 10.