[Vision2020] Steven Sitler

[Rose Huskey]

Steven Sitler, is a diagnosed fixated pedophile with multiple victims -
including members of his own family - prior to his marriage. Despite more
than a decade of  "treatment" from a local psychologist and counselors
specializing in counseling sexual offender he admitted, thanks to a failed
polygraph, sexually arousal from contact with his infant son.  His wife was
aware of this issue and chose not to report it to authorities.   Steven
Sitler is legally prevented from participating in routine fatherly duties or
living in the family home.  The fact is that we will never know  if observes
the behavioral guidelines imposed on him by the court which, at best,
provide limited protection to his infant son. His familial chaperones,
including his parents and his wife have proven to be unreliable in the past.
And frankly, what benefit accrues to them for reporting his lapses? They
have amply demonstrated by past silence that protecting the predator is of
greater importance to them than protecting the prey.  

Katie (nee Travis) Sitler longed for a husband to such a degree that with
full knowledge of his previous offenses, she married a man with a life
sentence hanging over his head as punishment for his sexual abuse of young
children.  Her parents, Betsy and Donald Travis, following the courtship
model popular in some evangelical churches including Christ Church and
Trinity Reformed in Moscow, gave their permission for the courtship and
marriage of their daughter.  What loving, responsible parents give
permission for their daughter to marry a convicted pedophile knowing that
they intended to have children?  Katie Travis and Steven Sitler became
engaged after two meetings (and many email exchanges).  What value did Mr.
and Mrs. Travis place on Katie future happiness and the possibility of a
stable home life? How did they imagine marriage to a fixated pedophile would
turn out?  What prompts parents to allow their daughter to follow this
dangerous path? 

Speculating on the reasons for the ill-considered parental decisions made by
her parents is pointless. There is blame and shame to go around many times
over. However, we can, arguably, assume that regardless of the stupidity of
all complicit parties no one wanted this marriage and faux parenthood to hit
such a dismal, yet absolutely predictable, impasse. 

Regardless of the thinking errors Katie Sitler made in agreeing to marry
Steven Sitler - compounded by the decision to deliver a child into a home
that will never be safe for him, sympathy for her unhappy situation should
be minimal.  She is/was a willing, indeed eager, participant in constructing
and living in the nasty mess she now finds herself in.  The only innocent
party in this dangerous situation is a year and a half old little boy who
must be protected from a predatory father who will always represent a high
risk to him. 

Rose Huskey

 

 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.fsr.com/pipermail/vision2020/attachments/20160816/4a5c607f/attachment.html>