Sunday, October 10, 2010

Outrageous Sentencing

So a fifteen-year-old girl named Ashley falsifies a police report -- lying about not knowing who attacked her on her way to school one day -- and she gets twelve months. Tony Simmons, the forty-two-year-old juvenile counselor who has charge of her -- the one shuffling her around in handcuffs in the courthouse -- makes a detour to the basement on their way to the courtroom and rapes her, which we find is something he's done with some unknown number of juvenile girls assigned to him over the years, and when it all finally comes out, he gets probation.

No, really.

And we expect our teenagers to have faith in the justice system? To trust the people given power over them? To be good, cooperative kids because the people in authority have their best interests at heart?

Sure. That's going to happen any time now.

I'll just sit here and wait for it....

Angie

6 comments:

Charles Gramlich said...

Sickening. I hope she's got some relatives who'll add a bit to that assholes's "probation"

Angie said...

That's a lovely image. [nod]

In the interests of keeping people who are doing the world a favor out of jail, I'm hoping they put together a hell of a civil suit. If the law enforcement establishment won't punish this asswipe, we can hope all his victims get together and sue him into oblivion.

If that doesn't work, then we can find the right unknown individuals go track him down with baseball bats. :/

Angie

Dawn Wilson said...

That IS outrageous! Oh my God! Unfortunately, that kind of thing happens a lot these days. It is just horrible. I live in Eugene, OR, aka, the Police State. People get beaten up, Tasered and thrown around in jails by cops all the time out here. Which is why I try to stay home as much as possible. No, you can't trust the system anymore. Or even the police.

Angie said...

Dawn -- you know, I'm sure the vast majority of the people working in law enforcement are good, honest people who are seriously doing their best. (I have to believe that, because otherwise we're all screwed, you know?) What I don't understand is why the good ones don't enthusiastically root out and turf the bad ones who give all of them a bad rep. Every bad cop, bad judge, bad counselor, bad whatever, makes the job that much harder for all the good ones. Why do they put up with it? Why the closing of ranks and the silent wall around the bad "brother officer" or whichever? Why did the judge give this fucker a pat on the head and a cookie and let him go? Why don't the good cops in your state pressure the bad ones to shape up or get out? I honestly don't get it, at all. [sigh]

Angie

Suzan Harden said...

I wish I could say I was surprised. *shakes head*

Unfortunately, even the good cops look at things as "us" (all cops)vs. "them" (all civilians). If someone does blow the whistle on a corrupt individual, he/she is driven out for breaking the code. It's just not a good situation. Not at all.

Angie said...

Suzan -- no, definitely not at all. It's frustrating in general, and scary, and harmful or deadly to the people who get caught up with these assholes who are being protected by their buddies. :(

Angie