BATAVIA -- A grief-stricken husband, mother, sister and father got up one at a time in court Wednesday to condemn the actions of the trucker who admitted he was tired and distracted by porn when he smashed into a disabled vehicle on the Thruway near Pembroke last Dec. 12, killing a 33-year-old Snyder mother of two.

On the other side of the hushed Genesee County Court room, Thomas M. Wallace sat somberly as Julie I. Stratton's loved ones called for the harshest possible punishment.

Wallace tearfully read a letter of apology and said he thinks of Stratton and her family every day, but the judge said this remorse wasn't enough.

"Your conduct on this day, I can't think of any other way to say it, was just grossly, grossly irresponsible," County Judge Robert C. Noonan said.

Noonan on Wednesday sentenced Wallace to three to nine years in prison for his guilty plea to second-degree manslaughter in the crash.

The announcement of the sentence followed an emotional court session attended by Stratton's relatives and Wallace's family from Ohio.

"It is because of Mr. Wallace's disrespect for our laws and his complete and disgusting lack of concern for others that we are all here today," Stratton's husband, Michael, said as he choked back tears.

The proceeding also revealed new details about the crash that killed Stratton and about Wallace's evolving statements to state police as he tried to explain what happened.

Investigators say Wallace, 45, of Brook Park, Ohio, was distracted because he was watching online pornographic movies on a laptop computer at the time of the crash.

Authorities also said Wallace was driving on no more than 4 1/2 hours of sleep over the 27 hours prior to the crash, in violation of federal regulations.

Wallace pleaded guilty to the most serious charge he faced, second-degree manslaughter, on May 25, and he did so without a sentencing commitment.

Noonan could have sentenced Wallace to probation or as much as five to 15 years in prison. He said his decision was difficult.

Stratton, who worked for many years at the Cantalician Center for Learning, which serves children with special needs, left behind two sons, ages 4 and 1.

Stratton's mother, Molly Dopkin, said that since the crash she has had trouble sleeping and concentrating and has largely lost her appetite.

Her sister, Amy Little, said she is "tortured" when she drives past the accident scene. to visit her family in the Buffalo area.

"I miss Julie every day. I will continue to miss her all of my days," said her father, Brian Dopkin, who urged Wallace to educate other truck drivers about the dangers of tired and distracted driving after he completes his prison sentence.

Stratton had just dropped off her children at Little's Rochester-area house on Dec. 12 and was driving home in the westbound lanes of the Thruway, west of the Pembroke exit, to do some Christmas shopping.

Her vehicle became disabled after she hit a deer at 11:20 a.m.

She was able to call her husband, and then 911, but the dispatcher didn't have time during the brief conversation to relay any instructions, troopers and prosectors said. Stratton stayed in her vehicle for several minutes before Wallace's rig smashed into her from behind.

The probe led by State Police Investigator John McCuskerfocused in part on why several other drivers had been able to avoid Stratton's vehicle.

Genesee County District Attorney Lawrence Friedman said Wednesday that Wallace initially told a trooper he didn't see her vehicle because he was checking traffic in his mirrors, and he claimed his laptop was stowed in his sleeping berth.

He later admitted that he was listening to, but not watching, pornographic movies on the laptop, before finally allowing that he occasionally glanced at the movies, Friedman said.

However, testing by the Western New York Regional Computer Forensic Lab determined Wallace had been clicking through different movies on a porn Web site before the crash, the DA said.

And investigators also found he had been on the road too long but was keeping fictitious logbooks to cover his tracks.

Wallace tried to claim that a grade in the road made Stratton's vehicle hard to see, Friedman said, and he told a presentencing investigator that he was distracted because he was looking at a Pembroke travel center.

"That's not taking full responsibility," Friedman said.

Still, Wallace's co-attorney, Michael Mohun, said his client did take responsibility for killing Stratton.

"I ask you to punish him for what he did, but acknowledge him for who he is," Mohun said.

Mohun said Wallace is racked with guilt and has been seeing a psychologist since the crash.

In his own statement, Wallace said he knows nothing he says can ease the deep pain that Stratton's family is feeling.

He told of crying with his wife, Tess, as they attended a Mother's Day service at their church, and Stratton's mother, father and sister wiped away tears as Wallace apologized.

"I hope and pray that someday you will be able to forgive me in your hearts," he said.

Noonan acknowledged that Wallace's guilty plea spared the victim's family, and the trucker's own family, the ordeal of going through a trial.

But he said Wallace must be punished for his "reckless" actions. There was no audible reaction from spectators when the judge issued his sentence.

 Mohun and co-attorney Michael Taheri said they had not yet decided if they would appeal the sentence.

Wallace's family members, who huddled in prayer outside court prior to the hearing, said through his attorneys that they would not discuss the sentence.

Stratton's relatives also declined further comment.

They expect to file a civil lawsuit against Wallace and his employer, but they were waiting to do so until the criminal proceedings ran their course, attorney Francis M. Letro said.

swatson@buffnews.comnull