Tweet
This is one of the reasons I hate where I live...Makes you wonder why we even bother enforcing the law to protect our children:
---SOURCE---
I missed it but apparently Bill O'Reilly had something on this and sent a crew to the judge's house.
Molester gets 4 months jail
By ERIC HARTLEY, Staff Writer
Prosecutors, neighbors blast light sentence
A real-estate agent from Severna Park who admitted molesting his daughter for seven years and also sexually abused two nieces over nearly 20 years was sentenced yesterday to four months in jail.
The short sentence surprised prosecutors, who pointed in court to all the hurt the man caused his family. It also outraged some of the man's neighbors, who have said his daughter needs to be protected from him.
People in the State's Attorney's Office were clearly upset outside the courtroom. Kristin Riggin, an office spokesman, said later: "We felt that we presented a strong case and sufficient evidence in court today to support a lengthy jail term."
Circuit Court Judge Joseph P. Manck also ordered the man to serve eight months on house arrest following his release from jail, meaning the total sentence is technically one year. The man, whose name isn't being printed to protect his daughter, will likely be allowed to leave jail during the day for work.
Judge Manck said he believed some jail time was necessary, but said he's confident the man can be rehabilitated.
"You have a tremendous support system, and you do have the Department of Social Services involved in it," the judge said.
The 47-year-old father of five pleaded guilty in January to child abuse and sexual abuse of a minor. As part of that plea, the prosecutor agreed not to ask for a specific sentence. State guidelines called for a term of one to nine years.
He started abusing his daughter in 1999, when she was 8, and didn't stop until January 2006. Many times he would apologize afterward and ask for forgiveness. Once he even stopped while touching her and began praying.
The earlier abuse of his nieces came to light after he admitted what he'd done to his daughter. He fondled one niece several times starting in 1988, when she was 10, and touched a 13-year-old niece about two years ago.
"It was wrong. I knew it was wrong," the man told Judge Manck as he choked back tears. "But I thought I could take care of it myself. But I couldn't - I needed help. ... What I'm asking you for is mercy as well, for a chance, a second chance to prove myself."
Deputy State's Attorney Laura Kiessling said it's hardly surprising the man claimed to want help once he was facing prison.
"Your Honor, this isn't a one-time incident. It's three victims over many, many years," Ms. Kiessling said, adding later, "He could have gotten help long, long ago, but he chose not to."
Defense lawyer Roger Harris Jr. compared his client's sexual compulsion to addictions to alcohol or drugs, saying addicts often think they can handle their problems themselves until something wakes them up.
The man is in prayer groups and support groups, and he and the rest of the family are in counseling and are being supervised by the Department of Social Services.
His daughter told her mother about the abuse in February 2006. When the mother confronted her husband weeks later, he told her: "It went too far."
The mother didn't call police, and authorities didn't find out about the abuse until June, when one of the girl's friends told her parents about it.
The girl had told several friends what her father did and showed one a journal where she'd written, "I really hate when my dad touches me."
The case drew attention last year because a District Court commissioner allowed the man to go home with his daughter after his arrest. Angry neighbors convinced prosecutors to get a judge to order him barred from the home, and the commissioner admitted he'd made a mistake.
Commissioners, who are not lawyers, are judicial officers who set initial bail amounts and conditions for people charged with crimes.
One of the man's neighbors has followed the case closely and was in court yesterday. He has said he believes the victim needs to be protected from her father, and he stormed out of court angrily after the sentencing. The Capital is not identifying the neighbor to protect the identity of the victim.
The neighbor has criticized the man's family for protecting him, saying their religious faith kept them from reporting the abuse to police. It wasn't until the neighbor's daughter came forward that police were notified.
"She blamed my daughter for what happened to her family," the neighbor said of the man's wife. "There's nothing Christian about that."
Later, the families of the two nieces tried to block detectives from interviewing them and only relented after police got a grand jury subpoena that would have forced them to testify.
Judge Manck suspended six years of prison time on top of the year the man will serve. If he gets in trouble during his five years of supervised probation, he could be sent to prison for some or all of the six years.
The judge ordered the man to undergo counseling and to have no unsupervised contact with minors. He's also required by law to register as a child sex offender and to give the state a DNA sample.
By ERIC HARTLEY, Staff Writer
Prosecutors, neighbors blast light sentence
A real-estate agent from Severna Park who admitted molesting his daughter for seven years and also sexually abused two nieces over nearly 20 years was sentenced yesterday to four months in jail.
The short sentence surprised prosecutors, who pointed in court to all the hurt the man caused his family. It also outraged some of the man's neighbors, who have said his daughter needs to be protected from him.
People in the State's Attorney's Office were clearly upset outside the courtroom. Kristin Riggin, an office spokesman, said later: "We felt that we presented a strong case and sufficient evidence in court today to support a lengthy jail term."
Circuit Court Judge Joseph P. Manck also ordered the man to serve eight months on house arrest following his release from jail, meaning the total sentence is technically one year. The man, whose name isn't being printed to protect his daughter, will likely be allowed to leave jail during the day for work.
Judge Manck said he believed some jail time was necessary, but said he's confident the man can be rehabilitated.
"You have a tremendous support system, and you do have the Department of Social Services involved in it," the judge said.
The 47-year-old father of five pleaded guilty in January to child abuse and sexual abuse of a minor. As part of that plea, the prosecutor agreed not to ask for a specific sentence. State guidelines called for a term of one to nine years.
He started abusing his daughter in 1999, when she was 8, and didn't stop until January 2006. Many times he would apologize afterward and ask for forgiveness. Once he even stopped while touching her and began praying.
The earlier abuse of his nieces came to light after he admitted what he'd done to his daughter. He fondled one niece several times starting in 1988, when she was 10, and touched a 13-year-old niece about two years ago.
"It was wrong. I knew it was wrong," the man told Judge Manck as he choked back tears. "But I thought I could take care of it myself. But I couldn't - I needed help. ... What I'm asking you for is mercy as well, for a chance, a second chance to prove myself."
Deputy State's Attorney Laura Kiessling said it's hardly surprising the man claimed to want help once he was facing prison.
"Your Honor, this isn't a one-time incident. It's three victims over many, many years," Ms. Kiessling said, adding later, "He could have gotten help long, long ago, but he chose not to."
Defense lawyer Roger Harris Jr. compared his client's sexual compulsion to addictions to alcohol or drugs, saying addicts often think they can handle their problems themselves until something wakes them up.
The man is in prayer groups and support groups, and he and the rest of the family are in counseling and are being supervised by the Department of Social Services.
His daughter told her mother about the abuse in February 2006. When the mother confronted her husband weeks later, he told her: "It went too far."
The mother didn't call police, and authorities didn't find out about the abuse until June, when one of the girl's friends told her parents about it.
The girl had told several friends what her father did and showed one a journal where she'd written, "I really hate when my dad touches me."
The case drew attention last year because a District Court commissioner allowed the man to go home with his daughter after his arrest. Angry neighbors convinced prosecutors to get a judge to order him barred from the home, and the commissioner admitted he'd made a mistake.
Commissioners, who are not lawyers, are judicial officers who set initial bail amounts and conditions for people charged with crimes.
One of the man's neighbors has followed the case closely and was in court yesterday. He has said he believes the victim needs to be protected from her father, and he stormed out of court angrily after the sentencing. The Capital is not identifying the neighbor to protect the identity of the victim.
The neighbor has criticized the man's family for protecting him, saying their religious faith kept them from reporting the abuse to police. It wasn't until the neighbor's daughter came forward that police were notified.
"She blamed my daughter for what happened to her family," the neighbor said of the man's wife. "There's nothing Christian about that."
Later, the families of the two nieces tried to block detectives from interviewing them and only relented after police got a grand jury subpoena that would have forced them to testify.
Judge Manck suspended six years of prison time on top of the year the man will serve. If he gets in trouble during his five years of supervised probation, he could be sent to prison for some or all of the six years.
The judge ordered the man to undergo counseling and to have no unsupervised contact with minors. He's also required by law to register as a child sex offender and to give the state a DNA sample.
I missed it but apparently Bill O'Reilly had something on this and sent a crew to the judge's house.
Comment