Dembe was referring to the reason that McIntosh, an internationally known researcher on treating brain injuries, was back in court 2 1/2 years after he was first sentenced to 11 1/2 to 23 months of house arrest by Judge Rayford A. Means.
Means' sentence was vacated as too lenient by the state Superior Court after District Attorney Lynne M. Abraham's office appealed. The court ordered McIntosh resentenced.
McIntosh's lawyer, Joel P. Trigiani, has argued that the original sentence should be reinstated because it was the result of an off-the-record deal reached by Means, then-prosecutor Gina Maisto Smith, and defense attorneys Thomas A. Bergstrom and Arthur T. Donato Jr.
The District Attorney's Office has denied that any such plea bargain was offered or reached. Bergstrom and Donato have filed sworn affidavits saying otherwise.
In remarks on Sept. 7 after he disqualified himself from the case, Means seemed to allude to a deal, saying, "In my heart of hearts, I know what both sides bargained for."
During yesterday's hearing before Dembe - she replaced Means for resentencing - the judge again denied Trigiani's motion to reinstate the original sentence.
McIntosh, 54, of Media, looking thinner and grayer, said nothing during the 20-minute hearing except for a brief colloquy in which Dembe assessed whether he understood the legal significance of his decision.
McIntosh responded to the questions in a soft, low voice, usually giving one-word answers.
He elaborated once, when he assured the judge that medication he takes for depression did not affect his ability to understand the proceedings.
Yesterday, McIntosh had to announce whether he wanted to be resentenced on his no-contest plea to sexual assault and possession of marijuana, or withdraw the plea and go to trial.
