I would love to comment but my language and suggestions on punishment for this animal would offend most of the ladies and some of the men here.

It is only a matter of time before Americans take the law into their own hands and begin executing this slime. If the courts don’t have the guts to put an end to these horrible crimes, I’m afraid that the people will. I would not want to be either a pedophile or a liberal judge on the Day of Judgment that is surely coming.

Comment by Bobby Crockett
July 3rd, 2008 at 2:30 pm

RE: How does one know that “Once a pedophile, always a pedophile”?

_______

Bobby … I contend that believing that a pedophile’s sexually orientation can be changed in extremely naive. It is something akin to believeing that a homosexual’s sexual orientation can be changed.

Considering that the majority of the adult population are not sexually attracted to children or the same gender … it has to a mindset.

However … there is still free will. We are all put in circumstances where we have a choice … to act upon something that is legally or morally wrong … or refrain from that action. The sexually abuse of children is both legally and morally wrong in the first degree.

Considering Brook’s uncle and stepfather made the choice to act on their sick desires rather than conforming to the legal and moral boundaries established by a civilized society … justice for that little girl demands that they are held fully accountability. They must not be let loose to prey on one other innocent child.

As the queen in, “Alice in Wonderland” said, …”Off with their heads!” Chemical castration is the only result that pediphiles from fulfilling their desires.

All of you need to check yourselves. Those who say there is never any hope for someone who commits a particular crime is in the depths of despair and bonds of iniquity themselves. Never underestimate the power of proper repentance.

Response to “Question” at 4:26 PM on 7/3 -

The information you posted is not correct. There is no “7 year loophole.” There are NO LAWS restricting what an employer may ASK about in the application and interview process. Equal Employment Opportunity laws prohibit employers from discriminating based on gender, race, religious belief, and a few other very basic categories, and some states have specific laws protecting additional characteristics, but they can ask about anything they want. Many companies have guidelines that restrict interviewers from asking certain questions to limit their EEO liability (can’t be accused of religious discrimination if you don’t know anything about the candidate’s religious beliefs, for example) but those restrictions are based on common sense, not law. No federal or state law protects felony conviction status, no matter how long ago the conviction was. Many employers refuse to hire felons out of necessity…it is virtually impossible to find a job in the financial world with a felony conviction, for example.

Chemical castration is one of only a few punishments that should be included in the pedophile’s sentencing . Apology psycho babble excuse making for these beasts obviously does not work. Make the punishment hard and stick to it.

How many more times must we read about children being assaulted and or murdered before we, as a society, wise up and get the message about pedophiles: THEY DON”T GET CURED. How long do we keep sacrificing the kids.

As a former State Corrections Officer, I can tell you the programs for offenders are a farce. The inmates are going through the motions and all the Psychologists and MSW’s on corrections payrolls across the country are nothing but hacks looking for a pension.

Incarceration FOREVER for pedophiles!

i agree…these people fall into the serial category…from my understanding this has been a prblem in vermont….we need stricter laws

Those religious fanatics who hide their pedofile tendencies behind so called “religion” are as disgusting as the bonified pedofiles! They hide behind the “freedom of religon” provision of our constitution just as the “porn industry” hides behind the “freedom of speech” provision. Our criminals now have more rights than law abiding citizens. This country is headed to Hell in a “handbasket” unless sane citizens begin to demand changes in our judicial system and laws. The “activist” judges are destroying this country every day and we do nothing.

For the people that think castration is the answer to cure pedophilia, I don’t think you know of the sexual abuse these children suffer from. A perpetrator doesn’t have to use their sexual anatomy to violate their victim. Believe me just because you remove their penis, doesn’t mean they are unable to destroy more lives.

I believe part of what is said here. I fear for my younger family members: a nephew and niece. I feel, if it has been DNA proven, and evidence against the one accused, then yes, a harsh sentence. But we must not forget that in times past things of this sort have happened, and sometimes and the said party is falsely accused. Our justice system needs to be extremely careful when handing out death penalty cases because evidence could be tampered with. I am not condoning or defending these types of people, but we as American citizens need to realize that it is very difficult to just sign a death waiver at anyone without thinking, “could this man or woman really be responsible for this?”. I also feel if we sign a death warrant for these types, then we need to sign the same for the teachers who have sexual relations with the students under their charge. I am saddened to read how people would say in good conscience that they would put the bullet to the head of any sicko without a thinking twice. Sometimes people can be rehabilitated, but it can only be done by that person’s choice. If they fail several times, then let us then reconsider their prison sentence and punishment. We have trained professionals, let’s use their training properly.

Daniel Landon

Pedophilia is not just a problem here, but worldwide. The one “Good Thing” about the tsunami in Thailand a few years ago is it wiped out a decent percentage of European Pedophiles (from Holland and Germany). The punishment here should be simple and permanent. They should be executed (without much delay) and their bodies broken up for use in organ banks. In one fell swoop we start eliminating these predators and we start saving the lives of people awaiting lungs, livers, hearts, kidneys, etc.

So we take dangerous (and valueless) existences and give then a redeeming value. It’s either that, or as fertilizer

Once proven guilty. Execution within a week.

I think we should have mandatory death sentences for these kind of crimes, but until we can manage that, I’d gladly accept more of these sentences instead (rather than letting these jackasses free!): http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,375601,00.html

Pedophilia like any other sexual orientation is exactly that. It is a person’s preference based on the forces of attraction within the individual. In that way it really is no different than homosexuality or heterosexuality in so much as one cannot choose or control what they are attracted to. So obviously the only solution to pedophilia is the confinement at the very least of such individuals for the rest of their lives. It is naive to believe that a homosexual could quit being attracted to the same sex through some type of counseling or behavioral therapy. Just as naive as it is to believe that somehow I would quit being attracted to women if given the proper amount of exposure to homosexual lifestyle. These behaviors are not learned, nor are they chosen. They stem from desires deep within the visceral pantheon that we humans have no control over. Therefor in the interest of keeping safe all the most innocent among us namely the children, we as a society cannot abide people whose behaviors dictate the rape, murder, or permanent scarring of a child. ZERO TOLERANCE - NO EXCEPTIONS

These molesters should get life or death penalty, and when they don’t the judges’ computers should be checked for porn! As of a few years ago there were not witchcraft cases in California ever lost - because 90% of the judges were into witchcraft. Vermont judges might be into porn and pedophelia!!! There’s a great website felonspy dot com — so you can see what felons live near any address. I think these molesters should be castrated with a knife to make it permanent and still get death penalty or life. Chemical castration is reversed after they quit taking the shots. What good is that? I posted about castration but didn’t see my post so doing it again. I have no pity for rapists and molesters.

I like the bullet in the head idea, but that douchebag will be running around the streets again in five years just watch

Lay off of Vermont. Left Wing Loonies are everywhere. I live in a small county in KY and there are 20 registered sex offenders here. I agree with most everyone, the death penality should be imposed most liberally when it comes to these type crimes.

death penalty for perverts, go for it.. as a victim of molestation it has taken years for recovery and i am still am working out the pain of it. thanks be to a good God i am able to find healing for the pain i suffered at a very young age. as for the molestor.. God will deal so very harshly.

Castrate him — and not chemical castration. With a knife is the only sure way that will last.

What’s wrong with our system that they don’t have castration and death as the penalty for rape and molestation!!!!?

Suggestion — if they do get out of prison it should be after 20 and 30 years and only after being castrated.

Everyone would vote for it other than the rapists.

The citizen of Vermont need to change the legislators that refuse to make adopt a Jessica’s Law.
Gov Douglas would do well to propose such protective legislation immediately, and readily name those politicians who obstruct this legislation. Social engineering indeed. What a farce.
People that are predispositioned to harm children in this manor cannot be cured and should be seperated from the rest of society forever. Lets make ot happen.

Excuse me…… But it’s not just in Vermont that this kind of thing takes place. Look at Florida and some of the other states. I live in Vermont, and were all upset by this. I agree that they do need stricter laws, and need to notify us when a sexual predator moves into the area. This should serve as a wake up call!

Absolutely true. The judges that sentence them should know that child molesters can’t be rehabilitated,ever. Yet they send them to offenders therapy and release them.Unbelievable! I heard that the judge is resigning.Good! He shouldn’t have been a judge in the first place!Maybe now Vermont will WAKE UP to molesters!

Once a Pedophile, Always a Pedophile «I agreed with you.I just cant understand how the laws works.pedophile should be lock forever or dead for what I care.This people are sick and the laws should work in protecting our children not coming with excuses of treatment or reabilitation for someone that is very aware of what they doing .what about the suffering of a child .The horrendous torture they go through each day aint this enought .we should protect our childrens ,make stronger laws that send a message outthere to the pedophile world that whoever abused a child in anyway will paid for this crime the max.enought with the excuses lets worry about the childrens right not the pedophile .

Many years ago a neighbor brought me a transcript from a trial his children were involved in. His children along with four others in our neighborhood had been molested by a neighbor. Our family was always so busy, and we were so involved with our children’s activities that they rarely had time to play with the kids in the neighborhood. After reading the transcript I was literally shaking and felt compelled to wake my children up from sleeping and ask them questions. They matter of factly said they knew all about it. In fact the son of the man who was molesting these kids was his father’s pimp.
He would threaten the kids if they told what his father did to them. My oldest son told me that they had told him about this and my son told them not to worry, he would beat this kid up if he came anywhere near them. I sat there looking at my sons feeling like I had failed them. Why hadn’t they come to tell me. They both said they knew I would get hysterical and go after the guy and they were afraid for my well being. I did not sleep that night and returned the transcript early in the morning. When I arrived the wife of the molester was at their door, sobbing her eyes out, asking them how was she suppose to take care of her kids. She openly admitted that she was told to never enter the bedroom when her son had a sleep over and she never did. She also sent her son away so he wouldn’t be asked to testify against his father. Her son was first molested at 6 years old and she was still protecting this piece of slime she had been married to. The absolute worst part of this whole story is that this couple had moved many times all over the country and they were able to take in foster children in every state. I was told by my neighbor that they had calculated that over 130 foster children had been affected by this man’s actions. Do I think Pedaphiles should be locked up for life.. absolutely and I believe family members need to take responsibility for what they have ignored for years too.

I agree with your comment–pedophilia is not a “condition” where a person can be rehabilitated. When will we finally recognize this and take the necessary steps to protect our children–those small people who rely on us for protection and nurture? I am normally opposed to the death penalty, but I completely disagree with the Supreme Court’s decision on death sentences for child rapists. “Death is only reserved for the very worst of crimes”–in what way is this violation of an innocent child NOT the very worst of crimes? And yes, if given the opportunity, they’ll do it again and again…until caught.

The mantra of “once a _____, always a _____” is true of everyone. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Sin is sin, and it is all offensive to God - the thief, liar, adulterer, gossiper, murderer, all share the same destiny without the atoning blood of Jesus Christ. True repentance is a “turning away” from the old sinful behavior and deciding to do what is pleasing to God. For the Spirit sets itself against the flesh, and the flesh against the Spirit, so that you may not do what you want to do.

The commission of any immoral behavior is equally condemning in the sight of God.

However, from a social and legal standpoint, not all crimes are equal and we measure punishment accordingly. Pedophilia might be a disorder, or mental illness, but the impact it has on the victims and families is devastating, so we must apportion our remedies accordingly.

I say this because I think it is important to distinguish between the affairs of God and those of mankind. As a Christian, I am able, through Christ, to forgive. In fact, as a child of God, I want to do what I see my Father doing. Remember that as we forgive, in the same manner we will be forgiven.

As a citizen, I want to protect and defend the innocent under the law. Because of the nature of sexually motivated crimes, they are very difficult to “cure” using traditional methods. This means that as a society, we need to do everything we can to eliminate the possibility of those who commit these crimes from repeating them. Therefore, I support keeping sexual predators incarcerated indefinitely. Not because I don’t forgive them, but because I do not want them to hurt others.

We must also fight against the scurge of pornography that we have allowed to overtake and pollute our society. Virtually all sexual predators have been proven to have an addiction to hardcore porn. Like a drug and/or a cancer it is destroying our society, families, and children. It is time for Congress to empower communities by giving them the ability to fight obsenity in whatever form it is found - including the internet.

Once a Pedophile, Always a Pedophile «I agreed with you.I just cant understand how the laws works.pedophile should be lock forever or dead for what I care.This people are sick and the laws should work in protecting our children not coming with excuses of treatment or reabilitation for someone that is very aware of what they doing .what about the suffering of a child .The horrendous torture they go through each day aint this enought .we should protect our childrens ,make stronger laws that send a message outthere to the pedophile world that whoever abused a child in anyway will paid for this crime the max.enought with the excuses lets worry about the childrens right not the pedophile .

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I agree with you whole heartedly but your article is too short. Maybe you could have cited some studies about this problem. Anyway, this is a topic that needs to be discussed. The courts need to realize that you can not release these people back into society because they will do it again and again. I think a one strike rule should apply in severe cases. If I was a judge in these matters the perpetrators would be shaking in their boots!!

We should stop talking about “sick” individuals doing “sick” things. These things (they are not people) are not sick, they are utterly evil.
To say that they are sick implies that there may come a time when they may be made well, when the fact of their evil shows that the evil will always prevail.

I agree. There is no evidence that a pedophile ever loses the urges to sexually assault children. Once they have demonstrated this attitude towards children, they may as well be taken out and shot. They are not capable of living in our society any longer.

” Mike and Rationalist”

Let’s put all the peodophiles and child molesters in your home. Then you can explain to your loved ones how “misunderstood” these people are.

Re: Comment by Ken
July 3rd, 2008 at 4:58 pm

A BRILLIANT post, Ken. Thanks.

Well, there is a problem with just a blanket death penalty for child molesters.
1) The justice system does not always get it right (sometimes the innocent are accused and imprisoned)
2) Most child molesters were they themselves molested as a child.

If a “blanket death penalty” for child molesters is “the way to go” then the next logical step would seem to be to sentence the victim to death as well, to prevent them from repeating what was done to them.

I’ve got mixed feelings about this issue. I only know of 2 people personally that have been imprisoned for child molestation. One actually did it and he had been molested as child. The second was falsy accused. The girl later admitted that her mom had made up the accusation and she had just gone along with it, and there was other supporting evidence that he had been set up.

Part of me says yes, zero tolerance for child molesters, give them the death penalty. The other part of me is unsure, for the reasons I’ve already stated.

I totally agree. Pedophiles are the lowest form of scum on the planet.

The state of Vermont needs to wake up and protect their children. They need to pass Jessica’s law. How many innocent child have to die at the hands of the so called “reformed” child molestors?

I hate to say it, but even Brooke’s death probably won’t wake up the do gooders in that state.

Pedophiles target children — no surprise there. The real question is why two sisters would both marry pedophiles, and allow the pedophiles access to children. In my view, the women involved in this case share responsiblily and should be charged with Failure to Protect. We use that charge against women who allow their boyfriends or husbands to beat their child to death, so why not charge women who knowingly bring pedophiles and/or abusers into the home?

To Vermonter Born & Raised:

Within the past couple of years, Vermont has been in the headlines with regard to their judges who
are soft on punishments toward child molesters. How many times has VT Legislation shot down Jessica’s
Law? What about the Pedophile that raped the little girl for years and only received a few month’s jail
time? Thank God for Bill O’Reilly exposing this low-life judge for what he is. Also, did you know that
your “great state” is in the top 5 states for the worst legislation/sentencing regarding sexual predators? Of course, there are other states, but it seems as though VT is dragging their feet on protecting their children. At least many states have either adopted Jessica’s Law or are in the process of doing so.
Vermont does need a wake up call and hopefully now something will be done to protect the children.
I am sorry you are offended by the comments made about VT, but you have to agree that your state
needs to make drastic changes.

You are spot-on, Lis. To those who disagree with the comment about ‘once a pedophile always a pedophile’: That is a simple statement of the truth, not a judgment. There is a vast difference in forgiveness and rehabilitation. They’re not even related. You can forgive someone even if they are never rehabilitated. (being an evangelical Christian, I know that Jesus can and will forgive us of all sin. That doesn’t mean we are not still responsible here on this earth for the legal consequences of our actions. We must ‘pay to Caesar what is Caesar’s’. A true Christian will not shirk responsibility or accountability for what we do, right or wrong.)

A sex offender of ANY stripe is virtually certain to offend again if given the opportunity to come in contact with their potential victims. IF a sex offender was indeed truly rehabilitated, they would WANT to remain away from their victims no matter the cost. (like a recovered drug addict or alcoholic). They just RARELY, if ever, will be accountable for their past actions or want to be held accountable to future temptations.

IF you ever come in contact with a convicted sex offender who says, “what I did was deplorable and I want you to be sure and never leave me in a situation where I might be tempted”, THEN, and only then, have you met a ‘rehabilitated’ sex offender. I have worked with sex offenders for over 25 years, and I have yet to meet one who said that on any level. I submit that any of the people who want to ‘give a pedophile a second chance’ have a) never known a sex abuse victim, b) do not have children, or c) are or know a sex offender…

Like others have commented–do you REALLY want to risk the safety of a child to see if you are right or I am right?!

Pedophiles do not change any more than rapists change. Pedophiles love to pray on children, and rapists will rape anything that stands still long enough to allow them entry. Both are about power! Power over anything weaker than they are. Castration would not even begin to solve the problem. They will rape with any tool that is handy! The death penalty would not work either, because most of the time it’s not ever carried out! There have got to be some drastic changes made………maybe turn them over to the parents. Or, toss them in General Population. Or, better yet……..put a bounty on them……….like they do some years for coyotes. Open season with a bounty. There is the answer, right there.

Wow, I don’t know what to say after reading all of this. I have a registered sex offender living across the street from me with his wife and 2 daughters. He molested his daughters many years ago, stopped the behavior all on his own for over a year, and then one of the kids told a friend whose mother turned him in (thank Heavens), but the entire family went through extensive counseling. I mean for years. They had family counseling, individual counseling, group therapy and he went through his program with flying colors, was extremely compliant and repentent. The kids wanted their father back in the house, as he had been away for a few years and wasn’t allowed to see them. From what I understand, he didn’t violate them in terms of sex, but did some other things. The mom said they saw counselors who speficially dealt with child molestation ONLY and all the counselors felt that he would NEVER molest them again. As far as we all know, he hasn’t, however, one of the daughters molested a little girl that she was babysitting. The police were called and now she is enrolled in a preadolescent offender program. I am struggling with the trying to figure out what the difference is between a man who commits incest and a man who is a pedophile and tries to get any child he can. Is there a difference? Does anybody know? I have tried to look this up on the internet and I can’t find anything about this. The mother is telling me that men who commit incest ARE rehabilitable but I just don’t believe it. I’m wondering if any research has been done on this to differentiate the two. And on a side note, my husband’s father molested my husband’s sister all her life. When it finally came out when the kids were teenagers approaching 18 years old, nothing was ever done. The police were never called. There was a divorce and the kids never saw him again, although he held a highly esteemed upstanding job in the community until he recently retired. SICKO and an OUTRAGE that the man still lives and breathes among us.

Maybe these freaking liberal judges will finally get it right and put these sob’s away for life or better yet, I like the responder who said, A bullet to the back of the head. Man, her uncle, how sick is that!

SO MANY of you are SO UNINFORMED!!! If the reoffense rate of a child offender is 90% (as stated so many times in these comments) then there would be a flood of repeated offenses, given the number of previous child offenders in our society. Though the offense is so heinous, every time a reoffense happens it catches everyone’s eye and the general public sees it as happening every day everywhere. I agree it happens WAY too much, even one time is too much, but the 90% that captures everyone’s understanding is SO WRONG!!!. I am personally familiar with quite a number of child offenders, and the common belief is so counter to reality. But the uninformed only believe what they want to believe, so we have the hysteria that exists in blogs like this.

Where can I vote to overturn the Supreme Court’s decision outlawing the death penalty for pedophiles? They don’t deserve mercy, only JUSTICE.

Also, once imprisoned and released, murder is more common, because the perp knows he’s going away for a long time if nabbed. No win situation. Put away forever the first time….

Thank you for your comments and for opening this subject for discussion. It is time that people understood about pedophiles and crimes against children. The media could make a huge difference here, increasing that understanding. These are the most dangerous of criminals and should never be released from prison after being caught for an offense—any offense against children. These people go on to commit more crimes against children—often violence and murder. Life in prison at the very least, no parole ever. Try to stop them before it leads to more victims and to greater violence and death. I could not believe that diatribe from the politician the other day that vowed to “ruin the lives of the victims” Simply appalling. Murderers should get the death penalty, in my opinion, but at the very least, keep them locked up and off the street. These people re-offend. I used to work with sexual offenders in a psychiatric hospital and they never expressed any concern for their victims, never.

I live this everyday. My teenage son was charged with rape of a child at the age of 12. He’s 17 now. He will always be listed as a sex offender. His victim was his little brother. After starting counseling, I found out that my son had been raped by his babysitter ( a woman) who had been raped by her father. Because she was a woman, they found it hard to believe and she walked. I called the police on my son, I had him arrested. I thought I was on top of it and both my sons were safe. Now I spend everyday keeping them both away from just about everybody. They are not allowed to stay the night anywhere, go anywhere. I’m afraid that somebody my youngest will hurt somebody. My teenage offender is in treatment. I honestly don’t believe he’ll ever reoffend but I’m not taking that chance. He’s not allowed to be alone with any body two years younger than him. Of course we are on a daily challenge to address his “original issues”. Offenders are not healthy or normal. I’m the first one to turn my teenager in for ANYTHING! Parents need to keep their eyes wide open. This has been going on for thousands of years and it’s getting worse. If our “officials” started punishing offenders a long time ago, my sons wouldn’t be where they are today and this cycle would stop. These crimes we hear about today will be a dozen a day in a few years to come. Trust NOBODY! Boys are not any safer than girls. There are women pedophiles!! With that, have a great 4th.

I agree with your article 100%.

Unfortunately, with “leaders” so compassionate as LEAHY, SANDERS, and DEAN, Vermont will remain

a haven for child molesters.

Pedophiles never change. My granddaughter was molested for 4 years before we found out. My ex-husband (no relationship to her) used to watch her while we went grocery shopping, ran errands, etc. He told her that we would not believe her & that he would deny it. He even went so far to say it was her fault. That she had lain on him in a sexual way (she was 3 years old when this started). This beautiful little girl grew up & never dated because she could not trust men. Fortunately, she met a great understanding man, got married & she now has 2 beautiful sons. She has never & still, to this day, will not talk about the molestation. He was sentenced to 4 years in prison, supposedly became a Christian Minister in prison & was released after 3 years for good behavior. Three years after he was released, he molested his daughter’s little girl (she was 2 months old). I don’t know the circumstances of this molestation & really don’t care. He has since been sentenced to life behind bars.

I have a close relative that is a social worker and has worked extensively with abused children.

Based on her experience, one mistake that virtually every poster here has made is to assume that the pedophile is male. The children that she has worked with have been almost evenly abused by men and women. The damage to them has been just as severe no matter which sex the abuser was. Women abusers get off much more frequently than men and are very much under reported.

Also - I had a close friend that was involved in the “treatment” of sex offenders. He NEVER recommend parole for any offender and told me he never would.

No Cure, just drop them off with little of no supplies on a remote island in Alaska together and leave them there. I’ve seen the damage.

how about sending these sicko’s to the melting pot of perverts, calafornia is the place they oughta be, so load them on a truck and send them where will get sanctuary.

I agree with Ken (posted above at 4:58) - I cannot count the number of times I’ve heard of these disgusting perverts repeatedly molesting innocent children. These kids are scarred for life - in my opinion, ALL child molesters (and rapists for that matter) should be put to death.

The next President will pick two more judges on the Supreme Court. Do you really want the
far left liberals to be picked because if you do then you will have alot more of these stupid
decisions.

Death to anyone that rapes a child –simple solution for the monsters!

This problem should be handled the same way the Judicial system did under Judge Parker in Fort Smith Arkansas years ago. the area across western Arkansas and the Oklahoma territory was rife with outlaws , rapists and thieves and robbers who preyed upon innocent families taking all their possesions of value and Ravishing their women folks as they pleased.
When Judge Parker sent his US Marshals and rounded them up , He then held their trial and those found guilty were taken immediatly and Hanged by their neck until dead. some will argue the death penalty is not a deterent, but His was, he simply hanged all of them til there was no criminal out there and then the people could travel that trail without fear. if our system would do the same for Pedophiles as soon as they are found it would eliminate them and little children could live without fear of molistation.
And to anyone reading this. I do not give a hoot what you think of what I said. and I am willing to stand before God in the judgement and verify I said the above. a better slogan that ” once a pedophile always a pedophile ” would be ” once a Dead Pedophile, never a repeat pedophile ”
An old man of 8 score years said this. and is not ashamed of it.

I could not have said it better, Joe.

These men are scum bags, but what about a mother whose daughter has been abused frim 6 years until 14 and wasn’t involved with her daughter enough to not know for 8 years. Speaking of scum bags, it seems the entire state of Vt. and especially the judiciary are in the same boat.

I read every comment before I posted in order to prevent myself from posting a knee jerk response and to see what others had to say in hopes that I may learn something and to be open minded. With that said, I offer the following remarks.

A child is innocent - every time and without fail - and a child relies on adults for protection, education, happiness, compassion and their basic needs. An adult who has any type of sexual contact with a child violates the very essence of moral integrity and in doing so, demonstrates an unbridled lack of self control and such actions define poor and improper judgment. It does not matter why an adult would CHOOSE to commit such an atrocity and to insinuate or state that such an individual has any excuse or reason for their actions is to ignore the act(s) that were perpetrated upon an innocent child.

A human being that would stoop to such a level of depravity is of no use to our society. They are like a disease. There should be zero tolerance in any and all cases where an adult has initiated or had sexual relations of any kind with a child. By zero tolerance I mean to say that such a person should be put to death immediately if there was no reasonable doubt that they had committed such a crime. This will not resolve or heal the damage that they inflicted on an innocent child, but one thing would be very certain and that would be that the offender would never be able to harm another child. There should be minimal focus on the offender and the “why” concerning their deeds or in the pipe dream of seeing them assisted or helped in any way, shape or form. Only the child - the victim - should be considered and the fact that they will be psychologically haunted and sexually damaged for the remainder of their lives because of the selfish and impulsive acts of a sexual pervert.

It propably stems from when the united states was young, child brides/grooms were the norm, records show some as young as 11 in the state books.

what probably needs to be done are historical records checks on all men/woman that took child brides/grooms in those early years at those ages and passed those genes onto others, or simply need to have decendants hunted down and prosecuted for these crimes that are being introduced today.

The proof doesn’t lie!

The uncle, the step-father, and anyone else who would harm a child can not be considered human beings. The solution is one bullet to the back of the head.

It is my understanding that even the pedophiles themselves will acknowledge that, given the opportunity, they would molest or prey on children again — even after they have had therapy or served time etc.
I do believe the Gospel, that through the blood of Jesus Christ anyone can be saved. (We need not use terms like the “worst sinner.” The Bible makes it plain that we all stand condemned before God.) However, even if a pedophile has had a genuine conversion experience, he may still struggle with natural tendencies — just as someone who has a quick temper may struggle with that, even though they have believed on Jesus for salvation.
I believe the point being made is that we dare not trust a pedophile, no matter what counseling, punishment, reformation or instruction that person has undergone. That only makes sense. Would you want a convicted pedophile to babysit your children? What if it happened 10 years ago, and there had been no more convictions? If you’re smart, you’ll say no. It doesn’t matter how long ago it was, you will do whatever you can to protect your children.
This is not hatred or unforgiveness. It is facing reality and taking responsibility to protect the most innocent and vulnerable among us.

I agree with you on pedophiles. I don’t agree with you on the others. When California had to empty death row in the sixties, with in a short time 2/3 off those who killed were back in jail for killing again.

All people convicted of sexual abuse of a child (under 13) should automatically get the death penalty.

The only ‘cure’ for pedophilia is death.

I assume you are a lawyer. You should know better. Once a this, always a this… ! Why not brand a CM into their foreheads so everyone knows who they are. I would pull the trigger on any one of them gladly for the vile crime they commit. But absolutism, in the cloak of safety for children, is not the answer. Harsh punishment, carried out. Branding forever is reprehensible. Though not as sickeningly evil as their crimes. If we must blame someone for repeat offenders, blame the judges (lawyers) and parole boards that let them out.

First offence should warrant the death penalty. Once a child abuser, always a child abuser.

Until our justice system realizes that the penalties must not fit the crime, but be must be severe enough to deter the crime this will go on and on.

As we try and place blame on who should have done what, we can easily conclude that many adults simply cannot be trusted with a child’s well being. This is why I think there should be a national standard in the educational system that teaches children in public schools about sex and sex violence. I was a victim myself… and even though I was a year younger than Brooke, I had absolutely no understanding of what was taking place- so much that I thought it was normal. Many parents disagree because they don’t want to ruin their children’s innocence by teaching them of these things- but as we’ve seen too many times- in the end, the child is the only one who can save themselves in these horrific situations. We need to take responsibility and start looking at ways to prevent and diminish sexual violence in this country.