“Inhumane.” “Sick.” “Life-altering.” “Shattering.”

Those were some of the words used to describe what Vershone Jaquay Hodges and others did to two teenage girls and their male friends after dark on St. Paul’s Harriet Island last summer.

Assistant Ramsey County Attorney Kelly Olmstead uttered the words quietly as she outlined some of the lasting impacts Hodges and others’ actions had on the victims when she spoke at the 20-year-old’s sentencing this week.

By contrast, Ramsey County District Judge George Stephenson’s voice rang out in the courtroom as he admonished Hodges, who was the first of the four defendants in the case to be sentenced for his conduct in June.

“I have seen a lot of stuff over my 16 years (on the bench) … but this one,” Stephenson said, pausing as he shook his head. “All I can think (is) evil, and thank God I wasn’t a person walking by that crime scene with a gun.”

Hodges and the other defendants — Devontre Jordan Vann, 19, Deandray Artez Easley, 19, and Choncey Milan Stewart, 17 — are accused of holding up the 18-year-old girls and their two male friends around 11 p.m. June 5, eventually forcing the two males to strip and lie face-down as three of the four took turns raping the young women. When they were finished, the defendants took off with the victims’ cellphones and other belongings, according to court documents. Related Articles Therapy dog-in training stolen in St. Paul found, reunited with owners

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Hodges and Vann both pleaded guilty to the charges, with the latter recently telling a different Ramsey County judge during his plea hearing that he and his friends had been partying and shooting a music video at the park before coming across the victims.

Vann entered an Alford plea in the case, meaning he maintains his innocence while acknowledging the state likely has enough evidence to convict him.

Easley was convicted by a jury last fall. He is scheduled to be sentenced next month.

Stewart was only recently certified as an adult in the case and has yet to enter a plea. His next court hearing is scheduled for Feb. 6.

During Hodges’ sentencing on Tuesday, Stephenson took exception to any suggestion that the group’s behavior that night could be attributed to chemical use.

“You can’t pass this off as using Xanax and alcohol; that’s bull,” Stephenson said, raising his voice. “There’s lots of people who use Xanax and alcohol or even something stronger … that don’t do something like this. … It’s inhumane. It’s sick.”

Hodges stood quietly during the judge’s remarks.

He was convicted of one count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct along with three counts of aggravated robbery after reaching a plea deal with the state.

He previously faced two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, five counts of aggravated robbery and two charges of kidnapping.

Stephenson wound up sentencing him to 25 years in prison as the two female victims looked on. One victim didn’t stop shaking throughout the hearing.

Both victims refrained from speaking publicly during the hearing, but Stephenson said he received statements from each of them, as well as the male victims in the case and parents and grandparents.

When it was his turn to speak, Hodges apologized. Related Articles Neighborhood girl finds and returns chef Justin Sutherland’s stolen knife roll

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“First and foremost I want to extend my deepest apologies (to the victims),” he said as his family listened from the gallery. “There is not a day that goes by that I don’t think about what I’ve done. … I wish I would have done something different (that night) or just gone home.”

He also apologized to Stephenson, who he said helped him to take accountability for what he’d done after initially denying the allegations.

When the hearing ended, he turned around and blew a kiss to his family as guards escorted him out of the courtroom.