Tillman sentenced to nine years in artifact thefts
Posted Sep 25, 2013 11:54:50 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A Fall River man whose home was filled with hundreds of stolen antiquities has pleaded guilty in the case, and has been sentenced to nine years in prison.
The Crown and Defence jointly recommended the sentence for John Mark Tillman, who appeared in Nova Scotia Supreme Court on Wednesday morning.
Once time served is considered, Tillman will only spend eight years behind bars.
In addition to the sentence, Tillman’s home and all of its contents including a Porsche and BMW will be forfeitted to the province.
Tillman’s lakefront property is valued between $400,000 and $700,000.
His bank account containing more than $350,000 has also been forfietted.
The 51-year-old told the court he hopes some of the money from that will compensate legitimate claimants in the case, and suggested police be vigilant against possible opportunists.
Tillman told the court he accepted responsibility for his actions in respect for his son, who became an innocent party in the case.
He did not apologize for his actions, but Defence Lawyer Mark Bailey tells News 95.7 his client is remorseful.
“He was obviously trying to get as much information out as he could,” explained Bailey. “I can tell you from speaking with him that he is remorseful for what happened.”
Crown Lawyer Mark Heerema told the court the culture of trust has been eroded because of Tillman’s crimes.
“We felt it was important to distinguish this case from simply a theft of electronics, which can be replaced easily,” said Heerema. “A letter from George Washington that’s an orginally signed letter is not so easy to replace.”
This case began when Tillman was pulled over by police in July 2012 and officers found a historic letter from British General James Wolfe in his car.
This past January, officers arrested Tillman after seizing hundreds of stolen artifacts from his home.
