Justin Hamilton went to court in Hastings on Friday to watch one of the men who kidnapped, beat and tortured him 15 months ago receive an exceptionally long prison sentence.
It wasn't easy for Hamilton, 26, of Lakeville. He was born with fetal alcohol syndrome and is developmentally delayed. And because he was kidnapped by a group of acquaintances on two consecutive nights in October 2008, he's found it scary to even leave the house where he lives with his brother and sister-in-law.
But Friday, with armed deputies standing nearby, Hamilton faced his assailant -- Jonathon Diepold, 22, of Northfield -- and then got up and quietly told the judge how the trauma had affected him. He told of how he was "set back" in the progress he had worked to achieve over the years.
Diepold was the last of five suspects sentenced for the brutal attacks, which stirred public outrage and empathy. Diepold will serve 10 years, double the recommended sentence under state guidelines.
The attacks came after a girl Hamilton had just met, Natasha Dahn, then 16, told her male friends that Hamilton had hit her. It was a lie, she later admitted.
During the five hours Hamilton was held against his will in a remote part of Dakota County on the first night, Oct. 10-11, 2008, he was beaten, kicked, hit with objects and burned. The next night, while in pain with broken ribs and burns, he was again assaulted for hours.
In court Friday, Diepold read aloud letters of apology to Justin Hamilton and his family. "I'm really sorry I snapped," he said, his hands cuffed. "I should have never listened to others. I realize now that you're not the bad guy I was told about. ... I pray every day that life will work out for both of us."
Hamilton listened, his mother at his side. "I will never, ever accept their apologies," he told reporters afterward. "These two men wanted to light me on fire alive and leave me for dead," referring to Diepold and Jonathan M. Maniglia, ringleaders in the attack.