[Vision2020] OUR VIEW: Time to revisit sex offender sentencing
Art Deco
deco at moscow.com
Fri May 18 10:01:54 PDT 2007
Ellen, Saundra, et al,
I am glad that the Daily News has finally decided to pay some attention to the Sitler case other than their previously published whines of Douglas Wilson and Roy Atwood about the harm to NSA and other facets of the Christless Church Cult without a word of the effect on the real victims, the children who were the psychically mutilated objects of Sitler's debauchery.
It is too bad, however, that the Daily News did not publish legitimate, timely, and relevant news about Sitler's case while it was under adjudication. Public opinion may have changed the outcome and may have made further tragedies more unlikely.
The article in last weekend's edition contained some excellent information about the effects of lax sentencing in cases of pedophilia. I cite it below my signature for your renewed consideration.
The was another piece of information that was disturbing and angering in the news article:
'[Prosecutor William] Thompson said every sentence is unique, but "the majority (of sex offenders) go into probation right off the bat."'
Citizens of Latah County have a legitimate expectation that the locally elected prosecutor and other public officials be a little more concerned about the community and its children than doing what others do. Thompson's statement attempting to justify his role in the Sitler case is of the "Monkey see, monkey do" mentality. Justifying just behavior because little Johnny does it is simply not acceptable.
I am greatly saddened, angered, and disturbed that, if true, the majority of serial pedophiles go into probation right off the bat. However, Latah County citizens do not want such to happen here, where as taxpayers and voters we have a small voice in the conduct of the criminal justice system, and, more importantly, have a real concern for the children of our community.
In the Sitler case, we are not dealing with a one-time offender or even one of lesser impact:
From: Case No. Cr-2005-02027, RULE 11 PLEA AGREEMENT
2. The State agrees that it will not recommend a sentence greater than a judgment of conviction with the court retaining jurisdiction. The prosecuting attorney has been made aware by counsel for the defendant that the volume and extent of acts by the defendant are greater than the investigator's documentation. The prosecuting attorney has also been made aware by counsel for the defendant that similar acts occurred in connection with minors now residing in other states. The State agrees that it will not charge Steven James Sitler with any other crimes of a similar nature to Lewd Conduct with a Minor Under Sixteen Years of Age based on facts he discloses in connection with this case.
Dear Mr. Thompson:
I have reviewed the Rule II Plea Agreement in State v. Steven Sitler, Cause [sic] No. CR-2005-02027, specifically paragraphs 2 and 3. I find that both paragraphs accurately stale my position in this matter, wherein no charges will be pursued concerning disclosed Stevens County victims for crimes similar to Lewd Conduct with a Minor Under Sixteen Years of Age.
/s/
John G. Wetle
Prosecuting Attorney for Stevens County
From: Letter to Judge Stegner from a victim's parents
Steven has admitted to several incidents of sexual perversion. We personally only know of the full details of his molestation of our daughter, Elizabeth. When she was only two years old, Steven offered to take her downstairs and watch her while the adults were talking upstairs. At that time he forced her to kiss his erect penis. It was painful enough to be told of the perversion that Steven committed against Elizabeth yet now we have watched for the last six months as an admitted child molester has been living in the comforts of his parent's home, whiling away the days that should be spent in jail.
In addition to repeated defiling of very young children in their formative years and most likely damaging them for life, Sitler kept a trophy photographic website which included some of his victims. Pathological.
Repeat: With Sitler we are not dealing with a one-time offender or even one of lesser impact!
Being repetitive even more:
"However, the reality is that predicting whether a particular offender will re-offend or not re-offend is very risky business. It seems to me to be very, very risky business when the offenses are numerous, over a long period of time, over wide areas, and where the offender kept a photographic trophy website including some of his victims."
Hence, although the Daily News editorial was welcome, it was quite milquetoast. The depravity and number of the offenses were not made plain as neither were the names of local officials who produced the sentencing decision nor the role that the extremely unqualified, hypocritical, but persuasive Douglas Wilson played.
Here is another problem not yet discussed on V 2020 as far as I remember:
By giving Sitler an early release and by allowing Sitler to avoid doing any hard time, the court may have done Sitler himself a great disservice.
It is certainly not clear that his brief period of treatment has been effective, and it is far from clear that the short, soft incarceration has had a sufficient amount of deterrence value to prevent Sitler's pedophilic urges from escaping control. In other words, it is very likely that Sitler could have benefited from a longer and harder incarceration and continued treatment while incarcerated.
At any rate, the community and its children would be at lesser risk.
Wayne A. Fox
1009 Karen Lane
PO Box 9421
Moscow, ID 83843
(208) 882-7975
waf at moscow.com
Sue Fellon, executive director of the Idaho Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence, said the time sex offenders serve ultimately depends on the severity of the case and the sentence that was handed down.
"When someone gets a life sentence and only does a little over a year, treatment certainly cannot be monitored during that short of time," she said. "I think the jury's still out on (whether) treatment helps everybody."
She said there is no guarantee treatment will keep those convicted of sex offenses from re-offending.
"Pedophiles choose a child and are seeking power and control," Fellon said. "(They) made a choice, nobody makes them do it."
She said pedophiles usually aren't the type to cause problems in prison and generally are well-behaved, which may help some get out early for good behavior.
Fellon said there's a message sent to victims when offenders are released early.
"Victims of sex abuse and assault often choose not to report and go through all this," she said. "This is another threat on the pile. (Sitler) gets a slap on the hand; you'd get more prison time if you got a couple of DUIs."
She said the system is there to help the victim, but offenders often are treated with more compassion.
Fellon said it's the victims who end up serving the life sentence because they must live with the crime for the rest of their lives.
----- Original Message -----
From: Ellen Roskovich
To: sslund at roadrunner.com ; vision2020 at moscow.com
Sent: Thursday, May 17, 2007 9:28 PM
Subject: Re: [Vision2020] OUR VIEW: Time to revisit sex offender sentencing
Saundra, I read that yesterday evening and thought it wasn't enough information, because nowhere does it mention exactly what you brought up. . . that the convicted molester was allowed out of jail unsupervised for therapy for a year. The newspaper needs to make that point really clear to the public because I'd be willing to bet most of Latah County doesn't have a clue.
Yesterday, on CNN, they were reporting about a little girl back east who fought off an attacker after school. Family members held him down until the authorities picked him up. It was reported as an attempted kidnapping. He was out on the streets the next day.
So, it looks like the way authorities/courts handle child preditors is a problem in many communities across America.
Ellen Roskovich
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: "Saundra Lund" <sslund at roadrunner.com>
To: <vision2020 at moscow.com>
Subject: [Vision2020] OUR VIEW: Time to revisit sex offender sentencing
Date: Thu, 17 May 2007 16:43:11 -0700
>This is from yesterday's paper, and I thought it pretty good. Personally, I
>think it's revolution time in Idaho -- it is sheer insanity, IMHO, that we
>allow convicted predators out of jail UNSUPERVISED to get themselves to and
>from therapy.
>
>SL
>
>"OUR VIEW: Time to revisit sex offender sentencing
>By Murf Raquet, for the editorial board
>
>Wednesday, May 16, 2007 - Page Updated at 12:00:00 AM
>
>Victims of crime expect and deserve justice.
>
>Victims often suffer the tragic consequences of a crime long after the trial
>and incarceration of the guilty.
>
>Sentencing is predicated on many factors, including the type of crime and an
>offender's record. The worse the crime, the longer the time.
>
>That's not quite how it works in Idaho, and that must change.
>
>It is expected that murderers will spend longer in jail than someone who
>steals a loaf of bread.
>
>Likewise, you would expect a sex offender to spend more time locked up than
>a person convicted of a drunken brawl. In Idaho, though, that sex offender
>could be back on the street in less than two years.
>
>Recently, a man convicted of lewd and lascivious conduct with a minor child
>under the age of 16 was released on parole after serving 20 months of a life
>sentence. He is a first-time offender.
>
>The average time in an Idaho prison for any sex offender is about 42 months.
>
>We believe the system is broken if it allows such short sentences.
>
>Child molestation is a heinous crime. The victim usually knows the
>perpetrator and is trusting of that person.
>
>The molester violates that trust and robs the child of so much more we hold
>important.
>
>Prison is the preferred form of vengeance in our society. Prison also is
>supposed to "rehabilitate" the offender.
>
>Serving 20 months hardly will achieve either result.
>
>The victim and victim's family must be able to feel secure in their lives as
>they adjust to post-crime life. Often it takes years of therapy. Knowing the
>person who assaulted you is back on the streets is of little comfort.
>
>We don't advocate locking every sex offender away for life without parole.
>
>If, however, the legal system continues to utilize prison as its main source
>of deterrent and retribution then use it like you mean it.
>
>The number of sex-abuse cases involving children are increasing. Something
>must be done to bring down that number. The problem will not go away if the
>offenders are walking the streets with monitors on their ankles."
>
>
>=======================================================
> List services made available by First Step Internet,
> serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.
> http://www.fsr.net
> mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com
>=======================================================
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
More photos, more messages, more storage-get 2GB with Windows Live Hotmail.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
=======================================================
List services made available by First Step Internet,
serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.
http://www.fsr.net
mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com
=======================================================
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Saundra, I read that yesterday evening and thought it wasn't enough information, because nowhere does it mention exactly what you brought up. . . that the convicted molester was allowed out of jail unsupervised for therapy for a year. The newspaper needs to make that point really clear to the public because I'd be willing to bet most of Latah County doesn't have a clue.
Yesterday, on CNN, they were reporting about a little girl back east who fought off an attacker after school. Family members held him down until the authorities picked him up. It was reported as an attempted kidnapping. He was out on the streets the next day.
So, it looks like the way authorities/courts handle child preditors is a problem in many communities across America.
Ellen Roskovich
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: "Saundra Lund" <sslund at roadrunner.com>
To: <vision2020 at moscow.com>
Subject: [Vision2020] OUR VIEW: Time to revisit sex offender sentencing
Date: Thu, 17 May 2007 16:43:11 -0700
>This is from yesterday's paper, and I thought it pretty good. Personally, I
>think it's revolution time in Idaho -- it is sheer insanity, IMHO, that we
>allow convicted predators out of jail UNSUPERVISED to get themselves to and
>from therapy.
>
>SL
>
>"OUR VIEW: Time to revisit sex offender sentencing
>By Murf Raquet, for the editorial board
>
>Wednesday, May 16, 2007 - Page Updated at 12:00:00 AM
>
>Victims of crime expect and deserve justice.
>
>Victims often suffer the tragic consequences of a crime long after the trial
>and incarceration of the guilty.
>
>Sentencing is predicated on many factors, including the type of crime and an
>offender's record. The worse the crime, the longer the time.
>
>That's not quite how it works in Idaho, and that must change.
>
>It is expected that murderers will spend longer in jail than someone who
>steals a loaf of bread.
>
>Likewise, you would expect a sex offender to spend more time locked up than
>a person convicted of a drunken brawl. In Idaho, though, that sex offender
>could be back on the street in less than two years.
>
>Recently, a man convicted of lewd and lascivious conduct with a minor child
>under the age of 16 was released on parole after serving 20 months of a life
>sentence. He is a first-time offender.
>
>The average time in an Idaho prison for any sex offender is about 42 months.
>
>We believe the system is broken if it allows such short sentences.
>
>Child molestation is a heinous crime. The victim usually knows the
>perpetrator and is trusting of that person.
>
>The molester violates that trust and robs the child of so much more we hold
>important.
>
>Prison is the preferred form of vengeance in our society. Prison also is
>supposed to "rehabilitate" the offender.
>
>Serving 20 months hardly will achieve either result.
>
>The victim and victim's family must be able to feel secure in their lives as
>they adjust to post-crime life. Often it takes years of therapy. Knowing the
>person who assaulted you is back on the streets is of little comfort.
>
>We don't advocate locking every sex offender away for life without parole.
>
>If, however, the legal system continues to utilize prison as its main source
>of deterrent and retribution then use it like you mean it.
>
>The number of sex-abuse cases involving children are increasing. Something
>must be done to bring down that number. The problem will not go away if the
>offenders are walking the streets with monitors on their ankles."
>
>
>=======================================================
> List services made available by First Step Internet,
> serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.
> http://www.fsr.net
> mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com
>=======================================================
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
More photos, more messages, more storage-get 2GB with Windows Live Hotmail.
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