College Student's Ordeal Ends

After deliberating for three days, a jury of six men and six women on Friday rejected Kerry Kotler's argument that he had been framed by police and found him guilty of the rape of a Southampton College student. A fisherman who lived in Montauk, Mr. Kotler is in the county jail awaiting sentencing.

The victim, who had declined comment until this week, has now confirmed she will go after Mr. Kotler a second time, in civil court.

She was 20 years old on Aug. 12, 1995, the day of the rape. Her parents and some female friends sat in the courtroom when she testified, with almost no show of emotion, for a day and a half. When the verdict was read, though, they all broke down and cried.

"I was definitely rejoicing. It has been a long two years," said the young woman in a telephone interview on Tuesday.

Cause For Stoicism

Her parents and friends were stoical for a reason, she said. "I didn't want to be emotional, to give him the satisfaction of knowing how he affected me. I think it was pretty clear that he thrives on making women afraid of him, on the power. My parents didn't want to show any emotion because they didn't want to make me cry."

Mr. Kotler's family and friends were also in court Friday when the verdict was read. "Not again. I can't believe they did it to me again," he blurted. He then winked at his girlfriend, Kelley Norman, and his mother.

"I learned from the first case that even if you're innocent, you still have everything to worry about, but I was shocked at the verdict anyway," he said in a phone call from jail Tuesday.

With the help of D.N.A. evidence, Mr. Kotler was cleared of rape in 1992 after spending more than 11 years in prison. He sued for wrongful imprisonment and learned in the middle of his second trial that he had been awarded $1.51 million. The story attracted national attention.

Segregated

Judge Morton Weissman, who presided over the nearly monthlong trial in County Criminal Court, Riverhead, declined to set bail, on Friday, saying it was not his practice to release defendants convicted of violent crimes. He set sentencing for Sept. 11. First-degree rape carries a penalty of 81/3 to 25 years in prison.

The victim said her parents had not heard her story in detail until they heard her testify in court. "I was afraid for my life through the entire thing," she said Tuesday.

Mr. Kotler had been free on $25,000 bail since being indicted in April of 1996. He said jail officials now have him in "voluntary segregation for my own protection," but maintained it was really to keep him from using the jail's law library to start work on his appeal.

The lead prosecutor, Randall Hinrichs, said he would ask the judge to impose the maximum sentence. "This was a premeditated crime. The badge, the knife, the use of the fluid, all that clearly suggests a well-orchestrated, premeditated rape," said Mr. Hinrichs.

Mr. Kotler posed as a police officer during the rape, and washed his victim's body, telling her he was getting rid of evidence.

Co-Worker Was Followed

The testimony of Jennifer Vail, who worked with the victim at the Beach Bar in Hampton Bays, supported the theory that Mr. Kotler was on the hunt. Ms. Vail told the jury she was followed home from the Beach Bar an hour or so before the victim was abducted, by a man driving the same type of car.

The victim said "the majority" of her friends and relatives had offered support after the rape, "though there's always a few who don't know how to handle this kind of thing." She did not seek counseling but said she found comfort in talking to other women she knew who had been raped.

Her studies were set back but she now has just a class or two to complete her degree.

"For the past year, my life has been pretty normal. I just decided I didn't want this to change me," she said. The decision whether to take the stand was easy: "I knew it had to be done, and it would be for the best."

D.N.A. Proof

Three scientists who testified for the prosecution said D.N.A. tests showed semen taken from her had genetic markers identical to Mr. Kotler's and the odds the markers matched some other man were in the millions. The jury said it was that evidence, bolstered by her description of the car and a partial license plate number, that convinced them of Mr. Kotler's guilt.

Reaching the verdict was a struggle, however. The jury reported last Thursday, the second day of deliberations, that it was deadlocked. Judge Weissman told them to keep trying.

"When they said they were deadlocked, I was so afraid there would have to be a second trial," said the victim. "But I wasn't going to back down. I would rather go through this all over again than see him go free."

Change In Strategy

She said she never once doubted Mr. Kotler was the man. "His personality, that he tried to act so innocent, the perfect person, making himself look like such a hard worker. But he was cocky in court and he was cocky that morning [of the rape,] too. He thrives on power."

Mr. Kotler sounded dejected when he called The Star from jail. He said there would be little left of his $1.51 million court award after his lawyers were paid and the victim filed her lawsuit. His girlfriend is raising their six-month-old daughter alone, he said, and he was worried about them.

"Kelley and the baby won't be able to count on that money for quite some time, if they can ever count on it," he said.

He also said he regretted a last-minute change in the defense strategy, a decision not to call friends of his from Montauk as alibi witnesses. "Now I think I should have called them, but you know what they say about hindsight."

Surveillance

Mr. Kotler claimed his friends were "harassed" by county police over the past two years. Various prosecution witnesses testified that 75 officers and, at times, helicopters and K-9 units were assigned to keep him under constant surveillance.

Drew Biondo, the spokesman for District Attorney James M. Catterson Jr., said that "the police and the D.A. utilized the resources necessary to gather sufficient evidence."

Mr. Hinrichs recalled that the victim in the 1981 case said she had been raped three years prior by a man who said he would return - and did. "There certainly was the fear that the defendant might come back to harm this victim again. We wanted to be on the safe side," said Mr. Hinrichs.

The young woman was given police protection after the rape, getting an escort home from work every night. She carried a portable phone that would ring only the police. But she said her attacker did not threaten to return, and she never feared he would.

Two Weeks In Hiding

Nonetheless, she agreed to go into hiding for the two weeks just before the trial began.

"They never would have been able to find me, though. I was moving around all the time as it was," she said.

Overall, she said, the experience had made her "a much stronger person. I've learned who to trust and to trust my own instincts and I've learned about the law. Now I'm more keen to what's going on around me physically, and I don't put myself in any vulnerable positions."

Nonetheless, she concluded, she is relieved Mr. Kotler is in jail. She expects him to stay there for many years.

"He is a person that society doesn't need any longer. I'm very happy he's there and won't be able to do this to anyone else."