Local woman gets 20 months

A Corona del Mar mother of two was sentenced Friday in Orange County

Superior Court to serve 20 months in state prison for attempting lewd

acts on a teenage girl who was living in her home.

In a court-ordered evaluation, doctors concluded that Victoria

Hawlish, 41, suffers from several mental illnesses and cannot

“recognize personal boundaries,” said Deputy District Atty. Jana

Hoffman in court.

“She is considered to be a risk to the general public,” said

Hoffman, who asked the judge that Hawlish receive the maximum

penalty.

Hawlish appeared noticeably thin, dressed in a blue jail uniform

and wearing her hair in a bun, as she was lead into court. Turning

around several times to make eye contact with her husband, Jeff

Hawlish, and a group of supporters seated in the courtroom, she

sobbed and hung her head.

Family members of Victoria Hawlish declined to comment outside

court.

“She has been a law abiding citizen for 40 years before this case

came upon her,” said defense attorney Albert DeBlanc.

DeBlanc told the court that if Hawlish remained in prison, her

mental state would be at risk.

“I believe that if anybody deserves probation it’s Victoria

Hawlish,” DeBlanc said.

Hawlish trembled and shook her head as she listened to her

attorney’s words.

Prosecutors believe Hawlish inappropriately touched a 15-year-old

girl on numerous occasions while the girl was living in Hawlish’s

Corona del Mar home.

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

an outgoing woman who was comfortable with her sexuality.

A jury in March found 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.

Before Judge Carla Singer issued a ruling, Hawlish addressed the

court.

In a fragile voice barely loud enough to hear, Hawlish told Singer

that her time in prison thus far has been punishment enough.

“Your honor, I’m very sorry for what I’ve done,” Hawlish said. “I

wish that I could take everything back.”

Hawlish claimed she has been abused by fellow inmates.

“Things happened there [in jail].... I didn’t want to come out of

my room because I was scared,” Hawlish said.

But Singer was not swayed by Hawlish’s pleas. Singer agreed with

the prosecution that Hawlish’s actions did not make her a candidate

for probation and sentenced Hawlish to 20 months in prison.

“I am certainly concerned that you, it seems to me, feel that you

are in this place solely because of what others have done to you,”

Singer said, addressing Hawlish in court.

Singer said the victim, now 17, has since attempted suicide and

has required psychiatric care.

“The victim in this case ... was vulnerable because she was far

away from home,” Singer said. “She is now as deeply troubled as you

say you are.”

It is likely that Hawlish will serve only six months of the

20-month sentence because of her credit for time already spent in

custody, Singer said.