After the courtroom gasped. My first baseman turned to me with his weary eyes and whispered, "Did he say 3-6 years?" Before I could reply my daughter nodded her head.
My right fielder's wife shrieked and her brother had to carry her out of the courtroom. The judge continued softly with the sentencing: count 2, three years probation to be served concurrently: count 3, three years probation to be served concurrently; count 4, three years probation to be served concurrently.
He proceeded to advise my right fielder, that his attorney did a great job. Even though this was his first offense and with a clean record he picked the wrong statue to violate.
If not for good psych evaluation, the courtroom of supporters according the standard guideline; he would have received 10-20.
The day long proceedings were surreal.
I met my right-fielder fifteen years ago when I got involved with my team. He and my kid brother became fast friends. After watching my brother play, he graciously moved from center field.
He was money on the field. He navigated the ups and down of the season with ease. His wife came to the games. He worked as a meat cutter for the same employer for ten years. He drank with team but in moderation. A fun loving good guy.
He wasn't one of the members of the team I prohibited my daughter from getting in the car. Was my maternal radar that off?
He and his wife couldn't have kids but he was a wonderful uncle.
Needless to say, last March I was stopped in my tracks when I got the call from the team manager about his arrest. I was in Whole Foods in the deli section.
Sadly, he was caught in an Attorney General sting. He was screwing around in a chat room. The agent was pretending to be a 13 year. AAAAAAHHHHHHH
Unlike on the "Catch a Predator" he didn't go meet the agent, it is a crime in PA to discuss the possibilities of sex with a child.
WHAT MY FRIEND DID WAS WRONG.
After his arrest, he got an attorney, went to counseling and opted to skip a trial and plead guilty.
The shrink opined that he was not a sexual predator and was not a threat. Since his arrest, he just worked as much as he could. He was too embarrassed to face the team. Most of our calls ended with one or both of us in tears. Ugh
I do have to wonder what the outcome would have been if he would have taken his chances with a trial.
We will never know. His wife of 22 years will have to sell their house. She is a clerk in a local pharmacy. The prison is 2 1/2 hours away with rolling visitation days. Will they stay together? Who knows.
I experienced a ton of emotions. Now, I'm just sad. A young girl killed her newborn and she got 21 weekends.
He got caught in a sting and he received 3-6 years will have to register under Megan's Law. There is something a little off with these sentences.
He and his wife's nightmare is just beginning.
I debriefed my kid brother this morning. It took an evening to process what I witnessed. Finally, he said "Where the fuck is Waymart?"
With frustration in his voice he answered his own question..."I suppose we will find out."
I suppose we will....
2 comments:
For the past few years, these kinds of crimes have gottena a lot of press, and what has surprised me is that so many of the men caught in these stings are not sleazebags. Many were considered pillars of the community: pastors, mayors, etc.
It is hard to defend the concept of an adult male chatting about sex with a 13 year-old, even harder to defend anyone who would actually try to seduce one (which your friend didn't do), but I have to admit that the sheer numbers of men caught doing this means we need to sit down and figure out why so many men seem attracted to adolescents, and if this is a new phenomenon. Is jail the right punishment? Certainly 10-20 years in jail seems excessive (unless it was MY 13 year-old).
The problem is, Americans are freaked out by anything and everything sexual. We live in a society so warped by fundamentalist religions that it is almost impossible to get the public to discuss this, or any other sexual "deviation" rationally.
My heart goes out to your right fielder and his wife. I don't think he's a monster and I don't think justice was served.
Thanks for your compassionate support.
Sex is an issue in our society. It seems folks are more concerned about who and how have sex than tending to their own affairs. In the same token, young and perky is glamorized. Seasoned is not appreciated. There lies in an glaring contraction.
Is this something new? I doubt it. With the 24 news cycle, it is being exposed.
I believe you don't mess with kids even fake kids. My RF will continue to receive treatment.
Folks smarter than me probably have a societal solution but that may require a different response. But a good first step is not putting 12 years on the cover of magazines and get annoyed when grown-ups don't look away.
Post a Comment