23 Years For Nurse Who Raped Young Child, Conspired To Rape 18-Month-Old

June 27--VERNON -- A former nurse practitioner from Vernon admitted in court on Thursday that he raped a 3-year-old girl and conspired to rape an 18-month-old baby.

Jay Mohler-Avery, 46, in pleading guilty, also admitted trying to get the mother of the 18-month-old to move her four children and herself in with him so they could be his sex slaves.

He claimed, according to the police investigation, as outlined by prosecutor Elizabeth C. Leaming, that children would not be harmed by having adults sexually exploit them.

"Children should be able to explore their sexual curiosity in the home with other children as well as adults," Mohler-Avery told the 18-month-old's mother, according to Leaming. Mohler-Avery also badgered the woman for days to bring her 18-month-old daughter to him so that he could "break her in early," Leaming said.

For his crimes -- first-degree sexual assault, conspiracy to commit first-degree sexual assault, risk of injury to a child and insurance fraud -- he was sentenced to 23 years in prison and 20 years of special parole.

Leaming said Mohler-Avery told the woman he wanted to take her and her children to a "compound in Maine" where her daughters should learn how to "please a man."

The mother of the four children had gone to Mohler-Avery's medical practice in Vernon for treatment, and he began to groom her and her children, Leaming said. The woman became alarmed, notified Vernon police and began to record her interactions with Mohler-Avery.

Police arrested him and an alleged accomplice, Candace Merriam, Oct. 28, 2011, after he tried to take delivery of the 18-month-old to sexually assault her, Leaming said. Charges are pending against Merriam.

As Vernon police continued their investigation, other potential victims came forward, including a woman who along with her young daughter lived with Mohler-Avery at his house at 25 Mountain St. in Hartford.

Vernon and Hartford police learned that while the child's mother was at work, Mohler-Avery, under the guise of babysitting the 3-year-old child, raped her, Leaming said. The woman had met Mohler-Avery through an online dating site related to Mohler-Avery's interest in "master/slave type sexual relationships," according to the warrant for his arrest.

Mohler-Avery also pleaded guilty Thursday to insurance fraud. He billed the state medical insurance program for an office visit for the 18-month-old's mother, although all he did not treat the woman in any way. During the office visit, he admitted Thursday, he tried to get the woman to deliver her children to him.

Dennis McMahon, Mohler-Avery's defense attorney, said that Mohler-Avery had been a victim of sexual abuse as a child while in foster care, and also had been in and out of foster homes and in and out of psychiatric hospitals. While that did not excuse his conduct, McMahon said, it was a relevant part of his background.

Rockville Superior Court Judge William H. Bright Jr. said that he has presided over sexual assault cases before, but that Mohler-Avery's was especially troubling. "I don't know that they get much worse than this," he said.

The judge also wondered if Mohler-Avery can be rehabilitated.

"A lengthy prison sentence is more than warranted," Bright said. "These are horrific crimes."

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