60 days for raping a 12 year old?

[Wildcard Ky]

I heard a blurb on the news tonight about a guy in Alabama only having to serve 60 days for raping a 12 year old girl. I can find ver little about it on the net though.

Here's a few pasted lines from the one article I did find.

Anthony Robinson, 26, was found guilty of a 2002 rape and sodomy in Elmore County Circuit Court about three months ago, court records show. He was sentenced Tuesday by Circuit Judge John Bush to 10 years in prison, with all but 60 days suspended.

"We tried the guy; that's all we can do," said District Attorney Randall Houston. "The jury found him guilty. They did what they had to do. We would have liked a longer sentence, but that's not up to us."

Does anyone know anything about this story? The article says that the judge was the one that sentenced him, but the DA makes it sound like the sentencing was out of their hands.

Here's a link to the story that I found.

Alacourt

 

[Lisa Denton]

I heard a blurb on the news tonight about a guy in Alabama only having to serve 60 days for raping a 12 year old girl. I can find ver little about it on the net though.

Here's a few pasted lines from the one article I did find.

Anthony Robinson, 26, was found guilty of a 2002 rape and sodomy in Elmore County Circuit Court about three months ago, court records show. He was sentenced Tuesday by Circuit Judge John Bush to 10 years in prison, with all but 60 days suspended.

"We tried the guy; that's all we can do," said District Attorney Randall Houston. "The jury found him guilty. They did what they had to do. We would have liked a longer sentence, but that's not up to us."

Does anyone know anything about this story? The article says that the judge was the one that sentenced him, but the DA makes it sound like the sentencing was out of their hands.

Here's a link to the story that I found.

Alacourt

Hang Him!!! I'm talkin about the judge.

 

[cloudy]

I live in Alabama, and not quite sure where Elmore County is...(not from here originally, thank goodness)

One thing about Alabama, though....

Several years ago, a 14 year old girl who lived maybe 1/2 mile down the road from us went home sick from school. I'm not sure who brought her home, but anyway, she was home by herself that afternoon.

4 guys broke into the house with the intention of burglary, but found the girl there by herself, and did unspeakable things to her. I wish I'd known at the time it was happening......I was home (off from work), and had a twelve-guage handy.

Anyway, the guys were pretty promptly caught, but eventually got off with fairly light sentences, comparable to what's listed above.

Her father, her two uncles, and several grown, male cousins patiently waited for them to get out of jail, and then took care of "justice" themselves.

They were never prosecuted or even arrested. The whole area knew what had happened, but nobody was talking.

So, when someone like that gets off lightly in Alabama, don't be so sure they won't get what's coming to them later....chances are, they will. Lots of woods, swamps, etc., here.

 

[KarenAM]

Oh, God, that judge is despicable...

And to think that many people (and one inept president) are actually spending their time worrying about "activist judges" who are marrying gay people who love each other.

Is there something cursed about the name "Bush"?

 

[SlickTony]

Something about that story's off. If he did it, he should've gotten more than 60 days. If this is a fabricated diary entry of hers, it's a whole 'nother deal.

 

[shereads]

It isn't as much the failure to arrest and prosecute that makes criminal justice a misnomer. It's sentencing guidelines that range from mandatory life without parole for an assortment of non-violent drug violations, to judges that are free to administer slaps on the wrist to rapists.

If there is doubt about the man's guilt, the answer isn't to give him a light sentence.

If he did it, and he's getting 60 days, he'll be the envy of all the nonviolent offenders who are serving 6 years or 60.

 

[KarenAM]

Good points, SlickTony. The followup story I think you are referring to (here ) does shed some more light on the case, including the defense attourney's contention that the victim fabricated her diary entries.

This makes it all the more confusing. If the victim fabricated evidence and the judge knew this, then how was the defendant found guilty at all? Isn't fabricating evidence a felony? Wouldn't the case be thrown out on that basis?

But if he was guilty, why such a short sentence?

All I can think of is that this would qualify as statutory rape based on the victim's age, but that's not what they found this guy guilty of, so far as I can tell. And Judge Bush sounds like the sort who would have thrown the book at a 26-year old for statutory rape anyway, but he didn't.

I don't get it.

 

[BlackSnake]

...

Her father, her two uncles, and several grown, male cousins patiently waited for them to get out of jail, and then took care of "justice" themselves.

They were never prosecuted or even arrested. The whole area knew what had happened, but nobody was talking.

So, when someone like that gets off lightly in Alabama, don't be so sure they won't get what's coming to them later....chances are, they will. Lots of woods, swamps, etc., here.

Doesn't surprise me a bit. Being born and raised in that state...L.A.

I suspect the sentence is by design, and a simular faith may await the rapist of the 12 y/o.

 

[Lord DragonsWing]

I live in Alabama, and not quite sure where Elmore County is...(not from here originally, thank goodness)

One thing about Alabama, though....

Several years ago, a 14 year old girl who lived maybe 1/2 mile down the road from us went home sick from school. I'm not sure who brought her home, but anyway, she was home by herself that afternoon.

4 guys broke into the house with the intention of burglary, but found the girl there by herself, and did unspeakable things to her. I wish I'd known at the time it was happening......I was home (off from work), and had a twelve-guage handy.

Anyway, the guys were pretty promptly caught, but eventually got off with fairly light sentences, comparable to what's listed above.

Her father, her two uncles, and several grown, male cousins patiently waited for them to get out of jail, and then took care of "justice" themselves.

They were never prosecuted or even arrested. The whole area knew what had happened, but nobody was talking.

So, when someone like that gets off lightly in Alabama, don't be so sure they won't get what's coming to them later....chances are, they will. Lots of woods, swamps, etc., here.

I live in Alabama also and remember the tale of what happened with that case. They do not get off lightly. Not in that case anyway. No one was prosecuted and no one was arrested.

I'm not familiar with this case though. I haven't read about it. It's hard to believe someone can get away with only 60 days in jail and probation for raping a 12 year old. But hey, we still have laws that if you drive down the road without candles burning as headlights behind a glass barrier you get a ticket. Or did we do away with that last year?

 

[Weird Harold]

Good points, SlickTony. The followup story I think you are referring to (here ) does shed some more light on the case, including the defense attourney's contention that the victim fabricated her diary entries.

This makes it all the more confusing. If the victim fabricated evidence and the judge knew this, then how was the defendant found guilty at all? Isn't fabricating evidence a felony? Wouldn't the case be thrown out on that basis?

But if he was guilty, why such a short sentence?

From your link aove:
Robinson was found guilty of rape and sodomy in the second degree. The charges stem from the age difference between the victim and suspect. Courtney pointed out that it wasn't a case involving forced sexual intercourse. Both charges are Class B felonies with a punishment range of two to 20 years each if the person has no previous convictions. Robinson has no previous convictions, said District Attorney Randall Houston.

"Of course Mr. Robinson's contention is nothing ever happened," Courtney said. "The alleged victim testified that she fabricated a diary that allegedly told of the events as they unfolded.

The two sections highlighted make this sound like a pair of lovers caught with their pants down -- i.e. a statutory rape conviction.

From the "victim's" attempt to pass her diary entry off as fiction, I suspect that the judge figured Robinson's biggest crime was not asking for and verifying an ID before letting the "victim" seduce him. (a physically mature 12-year-old who can pass for legal is rare, but not unheard of.)

 

[snooper]

... a physically mature 12-year-old who can pass for legal is rare, but not unheard of.

One lives close to me. She is a little girl when she goes to school, albeit developing fast, and the oldest kids in that school are twelve. I hardly recognised her in a bar in town at nine in the evening, made up, short skirt, tight blouse. I know we allow drinking at the (to US eyes) shockingly young age of 18 but the barman had no problem serving her. If I hadn't known who she was I wouldn't have begun to suspect her age.

... Her father, her two uncles, and several grown, male cousins patiently waited for them to get out of jail, and then took care of "justice" themselves. They were never prosecuted or even arrested. The whole area knew what had happened, but nobody was talking. ...

Don't you even wonder for one second about what you have written there? A man was convicted of an offence and served his sentence. Then, you imply, he was murdered, or at least seriously assaulted, and you agree with that?

I thought the US was intended to be a democracy, where the public has the right to elect legislators who will pass, and enforce, the laws the people want. What you describe, and appear to advocate, is not that; it is mob rule of the worst kind. The mob doesn't like what it reads in the newspapers about the sentence in a particular case, so they go out and punish the guy themselves?

 

[SnoopDog]

60 years would be justified because he probably destroyed a life.
At least he took away a lot of years from the kid's life.
60 days is an insult to the victim.

Snoopy

 

[CharleyH]

Sadly, such rulings occur more often than not. In Canada, one rapist was slapped on the wrist for raping an underage girl. I no longer recall the details, but I remember the female judge's reasoning for the reprimand: he had 'only' sodomized her, therefore she was still a virgin.

The judge was eventually removed from the bench I think, but my memory on that detail is cloudy.

 

[cloudy]

Don't you even wonder for one second about what you have written there? A man was convicted of an offence and served his sentence. Then, you imply, he was murdered, or at least seriously assaulted, and you agree with that?

I thought the US was intended to be a democracy, where the public has the right to elect legislators who will pass, and enforce, the laws the people want. What you describe, and appear to advocate, is not that; it is mob rule of the worst kind. The mob doesn't like what it reads in the newspapers about the sentence in a particular case, so they go out and punish the guy themselves?

In this case, I absolutely agree with it. It wasn't a man, there were 4 of them. You have no idea what these sub-humans did to this girl. I could only hope that if something like that happened to me, or to my daughter, that it would be taken care of the same way.

It wasn't a case of statutory rape...they beat her almost to death, raped her, raped her with household objects they found, and then left her for dead.

So, do I agree with what her family did after our justice system bailed out? You bet.

 

[KarenAM]

In this case, I absolutely agree with it. It wasn't a man, there were 4 of them. You have no idea what these sub-humans did to this girl. I could only hope that if something like that happened to me, or to my daughter, that it would be taken care of the same way.

It wasn't a case of statutory rape...they beat her almost to death, raped her, raped her with household objects they found, and then left her for dead.

So, do I agree with what her family did after our justice system bailed out? You bet.

This is why it is so crucial that the justice system in any civilized country work well. What these four vermin did to that girl is all too common in many societies, and so is the reaction of the victim's family. The danger is that it will develop into a tit-for-tat thing; what if the families of the four rapists decided to hunt down and kill the relatives of the original victim, provoking a response in kind? In a hundred years you could have two clans murdering each other's children (I heard of one case where the feud got so bad that each side would actually wait to kill their victim until that person was a young adult with kids, both to ensure that it would cause extreme trauma to the victim's family and ensure that there would be another generation to carry on the feud; they would even pursue their victims internationally).

So while I cannot bring myself to be upset that the four rapists had to face the girl's family, I find myself equally appalled that the justice system failed, and am sorry that Cloudy's story didn't include the judge in that case being tarred and feathered by his/her colleagues as an example.

 

[cloudy]

This is why it is so crucial that the justice system in any civilized country work well. What these four vermin did to that girl is all too common in many societies, and so is the reaction of the victim's family. The danger is that it will develop into a tit-for-tat thing; what if the families of the four rapists decided to hunt down and kill the relatives of the original victim, provoking a response in kind? In a hundred years you could have two clans murdering each other's children (I heard of one case where the feud got so bad that each side would actually wait to kill their victim until that person was a young adult with kids, both to ensure that it would cause extreme trauma to the victim's family and ensure that there would be another generation to carry on the feud; they would even pursue their victims internationally).

So while I cannot bring myself to be upset that the four rapists had to face the girl's family, I find myself equally appalled that the justice system failed, and am sorry that Cloudy's story didn't include the judge in that case being tarred and feathered by his/her colleagues as an example.

I agree with you, Karen. Normally, I wouldn't advocate vigilante justice at all. I tend to think that if the monsters that did this had gotten any kind of sentence in keeping with the crime they had committed, the girl's family would have left well enough alone. These weren't inbred hillbillies, they were rational, normal people.

However, the justice system failed, so her family dealt with it.

 

[Lisa Denton]

Sadly, such rulings occur more often than not. In Canada, one rapist was slapped on the wrist for raping an underage girl. I no longer recall the details, but I remember the female judge's reasoning for the reprimand: he had 'only' sodomized her, therefore she was still a virgin.

The judge was eventually removed from the bench I think, but my memory on that detail is cloudy.

Hopefully, after the slap on the wrist the rapist sodomized the judge so brutally she was unable to sit on the bench.

 

[Wildcard Ky]

I live in Alabama, and not quite sure where Elmore County is...(not from here originally, thank goodness)

One thing about Alabama, though....

Several years ago, a 14 year old girl who lived maybe 1/2 mile down the road from us went home sick from school. I'm not sure who brought her home, but anyway, she was home by herself that afternoon.

4 guys broke into the house with the intention of burglary, but found the girl there by herself, and did unspeakable things to her. I wish I'd known at the time it was happening......I was home (off from work), and had a twelve-guage handy.

Anyway, the guys were pretty promptly caught, but eventually got off with fairly light sentences, comparable to what's listed above.

Her father, her two uncles, and several grown, male cousins patiently waited for them to get out of jail, and then took care of "justice" themselves.

They were never prosecuted or even arrested. The whole area knew what had happened, but nobody was talking.

So, when someone like that gets off lightly in Alabama, don't be so sure they won't get what's coming to them later....chances are, they will. Lots of woods, swamps, etc., here.

As the father of 4 daughters, I can honestly say that I would do the same if they did it to one of my girls.

 

[MlledeLaPlumeBleu]

I think it is a mistake to bring the term "statutory rape" into play in this situation, because
it implies consent (if not legally, at least between the two parties, uneven as such consent
might be) and thus, in implying some kind of consent, diminishes the victimization aspect of the crime.
In the case of a 26 year old and a 16 year old, ok, that might be relevant.

But 12, for Christ's sake- that's My Little Pony land. No matter how old or seasoned a 12 year old
might look, the emotional maturity is not there to allow true consent. Take it from a eurotrash girl
who at age 12 was spontaneously saddled with the fully-formed, come-hither body of a Parisian streetwalker.
I endured a lot of unsettling and ultimately kind of threatening advances from grown men before I
was equipped to deal with it. It was flattering, yet uncomfortable, and I kind of wished they wouldn't.

[Thank god my mom's a shewolf. She once nearly eviscerated a man who took it upon himself to
put his hand into a hole in the back thigh of my (fashionably) ripped jeans while we were standing
in line.]

The point I mean to make is this: Perhaps you can't tell by looking at her, but five minutes of
conversation will reveal if a girl is severely underage. Those who feign ignorance beyond that
point are willfully misleading themselves, because they don't want to know.

Never mind the subsequent glaringly obvious clues of a really reticent and shitty blowjob, and other various innumerable
hallmarks of sexual inexperience and insecurity.

Predators deserve equal pain.

mlle

 

[Teenage Venus]

As I'm the result of a multi rape, and also a victim, i guess I can stick in my two cents:

Nobody was convicted in either case.
Mum was not angry, nor sought revenge.
She convinced me to feel the same. Here words went something like, "It's a shit world. We will all get our share, learn to appreciate the better bits."

Jeez, it screwed me up for a while. Some things just ain't nice. However, I have some sympathy for any honest judge. They have to attempt to put their own feelings aside, and meet out justice.

I think this one was weak. He tried to appease his own conscience (probably believing the girl a liar), and please the populace, by passing a sentence. 10 years seemed right for one. 60 days for the other.

Some crimes are despicable.
Better the law frees ten that are guilty, than wrongly convict one that is innocent.

I believe that justice will be done to those sick people anyway: What goes around comes around.

Why should good citizens get worked up about it! Sure, go kill the bastards if it makes you feel good - then live with it all your life - And maybe find at a later date you killed an innocent person.

The only thing fair about life is that it is unfair to most everybody.

The best thing for that girl, innocent or guilty, is to let her get on with her life. Eventually, justice will equal things out.

I felt sorry for myself, until I was the recipient of a free holiday to Africa. Events there took a turn for the worse. I soon learned that what happened to me was little compared to what happened in the rest of the world daily.

At least I'm free to rant and rave on here in the knowledge that shitty as my country may seem to some, millions suddenly transported here would consider it paradise.

Time for coffee and tablets.

 

[destinie21]

I heard a blurb on the news tonight about a guy in Alabama only having to serve 60 days for raping a 12 year old girl. I can find ver little about it on the net though.

Here's a few pasted lines from the one article I did find.

Anthony Robinson, 26, was found guilty of a 2002 rape and sodomy in Elmore County Circuit Court about three months ago, court records show. He was sentenced Tuesday by Circuit Judge John Bush to 10 years in prison, with all but 60 days suspended.

"We tried the guy; that's all we can do," said District Attorney Randall Houston. "The jury found him guilty. They did what they had to do. We would have liked a longer sentence, but that's not up to us."

Does anyone know anything about this story? The article says that the judge was the one that sentenced him, but the DA makes it sound like the sentencing was out of their hands.

Here's a link to the story that I found.

Alacourt

justice such as it is has always been fucked up on this issue the guy who tore me up got 90 days which he didn't fully serve the scratches on my back hadn't fully healed before he was walking around the neighborhood and smiling in my face

 

[Weird Harold]

I think it is a mistake to bring the term "statutory rape" into play in this situation, because
it implies consent (if not legally, at least between the two parties, uneven as such consent
might be) and thus, in implying some kind of consent, diminishes the victimization aspect of the crime.

But statutory rape is exactly what this particular case deals with:

From the link above:
Robinson was found guilty of rape and sodomy [/i]in the second degree.[/i] The charges stem from the age difference between the victim and suspect. Courtney pointed out that it wasn't a case involving forced sexual intercourse.

Just how much "informed" there was to her consent is another question, but "rape in the second degree" is the way "statutory rape" is usually defined in the statutes and the quote above is from the Prosecutor of the case.

There is precious little detail of the circumstances of THIS case in the news stories, but the charges and the fact that she ws apparently wiling to lie about her diary being factual strongly hints that she was trying to "protect" her lover.

The sentence given also hints that the judge may have thought that the "victim" IN THIS CASE was equally responsible -- if not the instigator.

For a judge with the reputation of a "hanging judge" -- as the judge in this case appears to be -- to hand out such a light sentence there MUST be something about this situation that didn't make the news stories to mitigate the "crime."

But 12, for Christ's sake- that's My Little Pony land. No matter how old or seasoned a 12 year old might look, the emotional maturity is not there to allow true consent.

This is stereotyping at it's worst -- it not only lumps all 12-year-olds girls into a single group, it ignores the fact that people mature at different rates -- physically and emotionally.

In a nice, safe, middle class home with a "shewolf" guarding her virtue, a physically precocious 12yo has the leisure to be a child.

I live in a low-income partment complex, and many of the preteen and teen girls around here are taking on responsibilities they shouldn't have to deal with for another decade or more in ideal circumstances -- rising children (siblings or their own,) managing sparse finances, planning and preparing meals, etc.

Such an environment tends to shorten childhood and put young women face to face with adult issues long before their more affluent peers -- those that deal successfully with those issues are difficult to place an accurate age to.

I hve no doubt that there are a dozen or more preteens girls within a half mile of me right now that could pass themselves off as "legaL" if they wished -- especially if their target is less mature than age 26 would suggest and was thinking with his "little head" -- and know EXACTLY what they were geting into.

They might not be capable of "true consent" in the eyes of the law, but they are capable of planning and executing a seduction, in THEIR eyes, with full knowledge of what they are doing -- in some cases a much better understanding than much older girls have.

Originally posted by Teenage Venus
However, I have some sympathy for any honest judge. They have to attempt to put their own feelings aside, and meet out justice.

I think this one was weak. He tried to appease his own conscience (probably believing the girl a liar), and please the populace, by passing a sentence. 10 years seemed right for one. 60 days for the other.

I think it's fairly clear from the prosecutor and defense attorney's comments that the "victim" in this case didn't want the "criminal" convicted. I think the judge took that into account in the sentencing. 10 years to satisfy the parents and the law, reduce to 60 days and five years probation to satisfy the facts of the case.

 

[RenzaJones]

he should have gotten more time at 12 no matter how clever she was nuances of childhood would have shown through. It's not all about outward appearances it's about demeanor and maturity. A petite woman with a girlish face if talked to for a moment could through conversation prove to be a woman but even a stacked 12 year old is still a child

 

[Lisa Denton]

(Quote) This is is stereotyping at it's worst -- it not only lumps all 12-year-olds girls into a single group, it ignores the fact that people mature at different rates -- physically and emotionally.

In a nice, safe, middle class home with a "shewolf" guarding her virtue, a physically precocious 12yo has the leisure to be a child.

I live in a low-income partment complex, and many of the preteen and teen girls around here are taking on responsibilities they shouldn't have to deal with for another decade or more in ideal circumstances -- rising children (siblings or their own,) managing sparse finances, planning and preparing meals, etc.

Such an environment tends to shorten childhood and put young women face to face with adult issues long before their more affluent peers -- those that deal successfully with those issues are difficult to place an accurate age to.

I hve no doubt that there are a dozen or more preteens girls within a half mile of me right now that could pass themselves off as "legaL" if they wished -- especially if their target is less mature than age 26 would suggest and was thinking with his "little head" -- and know EXACTLY what they were geting into.

They might not be capable of "true consent" in the eyes of the law, but they are capable of planning and executing a seduction, in THEIR eyes, with full knowledge of what they are doing -- in some cases a much better understanding than much older girls have.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


Are you seriously implying that a 12 year old child is mature enough to CONSENT to sexual intercourse?

 

[MlledeLaPlumeBleu]

Yes, he is. Not only that, but victimize a poor man with a full-scale
seduction. I was too tired to list all the reasons that isn't the case.

I respect his unique perspective on the subject as a middle-aged man, however,
since both you and I have been 12 year old girls, I think we may know
whereof we speak.

I'm sorry, but "responsiveness" does not equal consent. Kids, *especially* troubled
ones, "consent" to all kinds of things that are not in their best interest. Most of them are
hungry for approval and love. The "well, they grow up quicker in the ghetto,
they're more mature, so its ok" argument offends me.

And referring to a 12 year old girl and a 26 year old man as "lovers" ascribes
an equality to the interaction that cannot be possible.

mlle