Pollack, D. & Radcliffe, S. (2026, March 30).
Law.com; New York Law Journal.
This New York Law Journal expert opinion article examines the rhetorical patterns that convicted sexual groomers typically employ in their sentencing statements. The authors identify four recurring themes: expressions of remorse, acceptance of responsibility, emphasis on personal consequences, and religious or moral framing. Drawing on real cases (including those of Larry Nassar, Roy David Farber, Juan Camargo, and others), the article illustrates how these statements are often carefully crafted with defense counsel's guidance to encourage judicial leniency, yet frequently fall short of genuine accountability by centering the defendant's own suffering rather than the victim's. The authors conclude that judges are rightly skeptical of such polished apologies, and that how offenders speak at sentencing carries significance both for assessing future risk and for whether victims experience any measure of justice.
