To Catch a Predator

[guids]

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Guids (and others I guess),

I think some of you are confusing what some people are actually arguing. I could be wrong, but I don't think anyone is actually defending the act of molesting a child. No one is saying that the people who show up at the house haven't done something bad, to some degree. But is what they've done really bad enough to get the felony and the tv exposure? Should consensual sex with a 14 year old really be seen as the same thing as forced rape or sex with a 9 year old?

Like others have said, a lot of these guys are probably just desperate for sex, and when a hot 14 year old invites them over, they eventually go for it. Exemplary behavior? No. Felony? That doesn't seem right to some of us.

To some extent, shouldn't the harm actually caused play a role in the punishment? Or are you just content with anybody showing any likelihood of hurting a minor getting the full treatment? What exactly is it that crosses the line for you? Is it walking through the door? Is it getting out of the car? Is it driving on the street? Is it getting in the car? Is it talking to the girl about sex on the internet? Is it telling your friend that you think a certain underage girl is hot? Is it thinking a certain underage girl is hot? What exactly is it? Where exactly do you say "BAM, that's a felony, no sympathy for him!"?

I believe most people have some latent potential to hook up with a minor. Men have hormones. But we also have a sense of judgment that usually keeps those desires in check. If someone's desires get the best of them in this artificial scenario, do you think that means that it was particularly likely to happen with a real 14 year old (who presumably isn't likely to be very hot, very willing, and very home alone)? Or do you think maybe all we've proved is that they have *some* capacity to hurt someone, and maybe that they are slightly more likely to do so than the average person? Since no child was actually hurt, I'm more willing to want to give them the benefit of the doubt (and maybe force them to attend counseling, and keep them under some sort of supervision for some amount of time) than I am to want to put them on national TV and convict them of a felony.

Does this mean I'm sympathetic to child molesters? According to you, yes. Or maybe it just means that I care about having a legal system that seeks to distribute punishments fairly, and differentiate critical circumstances accurately.

But the fact is, lenient sentencing of people who are perceived as child molesters does not win elections for judges and city officials. Being reasonable with your methods in sting operations does not fill quotas for undercover agents. It's how the system works. And as long as there are people like you out there screaming for someone's head rather than be willing to make some sort of level headed analysis of a situation, then it's how the system will remain. And it's a shame.

It's possible to care about an issue because of the precedent it has on your system. Accusing us of being sympathetic to scum bags is a real myopic (and unfair) way to look at what we're saying.


Ideally, I would like to establish different tiers of sexual abuse. It's ridiculous to think some sort of blanket offense is actually a good policy. Should a 45 year old who had forced sex with an 8 year old really be no different than a 21 year old who had consensual sex with a 15 year old? Not only does one person get a punishment/stigma that he probably doesn't deserve, but the scummier person benefits from a lightened punishment and a dampened stigma. On one end you have the most gruesome type of person out there, and on the other end you have a potentially decent person who was a little horny and made a mistake (and probably harmed no one). It's OK to differentiate between these things without being "sympathetic to child molesters." I'm sure you think you stand for some nobel things. But, IMO, it is stances like yours which make effective compromise (and ultimately the heightened punishment of the more serious offenses) close to impossible.

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yes, "consensual" sex with a 14 year old should really be seen as the same thing as a forced rape of a 9 year old. the whole point is that a 14 year old is not old enough (in our society) to determine what effects of what she is doing will have on her. If you dont think a 30 year old sleeping with a 14 year old doesnt "deserve" a felony, I dont know what to tell you, other than dont be a lawyer.