If he breaks into the wrong house one day, his life will be cut short.
Posted on 11/16/2015 5:52:04 AM PST by simpson96
A California man with a rare genetic disorder that gives him an insatiable appetite has pleaded no contest to breaking into houses to steal food and other belongings.
The San Luis Obispo County district attorney says in a statement that because of the condition it allowed 20-year-old Tyler Jarvis to plead to five misdemeanors and get probation and treatment. He had previously been charged with felonies that could have led to jail time.
Prosecutors say Jarvis has "Prader-Willi Syndrome" and they looked closely at his case to reach a just outcome. They say people who have it and are not monitored will often badly overeat and often go to great lengths seeking food.
Jarvis has agreed to pay restitution to three victims, serve three years' probation and get residential treatment.
If he breaks into the wrong house one day, his life will be cut short.
So basically he lacks self control?
The article does not mention his weight, which I’d love to know.
He’s like Hunger in Ovid’s Metamorphoses!
There is a disorder where the stomach never sends the “full” signal to the brain and the person is ALWAYS hungry no matter how much they eat.
I prader willi works at least once a week
I worked as head of Safety/Security and Fire in a Mental Institution and observed these people. One would actually bite the plates his food was in and the cups/glasses his drinks came in. I was asked as the Safety Manager what I was gonna do about it. I told them to give him paper plates and cups and let him go to it. I was almost given a week on the street.
Certainly explains this:
Probably as tall as he is wide.
A couple more facts on Prader Willi Syndrome from someone who has a loved one that has it...
It is basically like a life long heroin addiction except to food that will never go away even if you maintain good habits for years and years. They are constantly craving food and are obsessed with getting it. Suggesting a person with PWS should “just control himself” is like suggesting to someone going through heroin withdrawal to “just get over it”. Then add to it the ubiquity of food and the relative scarcity of heroin. A person coming clean off of heroin can make the choice to stay away from heroin. A person with PWS trying to maintain weight and health can’t simply stay away from food. It is everywhere all the time.
The average IQ of someone with PWS is around 85.
To top it all off, while the average person requires 1500-2000 calories per day to maintain weight, people with PWS will gain weight on anything more than 800-1000 calories per day. The guy in this picture actually looks in incredible shape for someone with PWS. His care takers are doing a good job keeping food away from him.
One of the saddest things is that people with PWS usually have a very strong moral sense of right and wrong and feel terrible after they do things like what this guy did or just stealing food from the family fridge. I am not saying he shouldn’t be punished, he certainly should. There are thousands of people in the U.S. with PWS and you don’t hear about all of them breaking into homes. I am just suggesting compassion and empathy.
It is truly a very difficult life for people with PWS.
Great. Now alcoholics can break into liquor stores with impunity.
Well, not exactly impunity. But they can plead felony crimes down to misdemeanors.
I see what you did there.
I grew up with a kid that had PWS. Not the brightest. His parents literally had to put pad locks on the refrigerator and kitchen cupboards to keep him out of the food. He could not stop himself. He even got in trouble with the law from it as well. He would eat food from gas stations and 7-11. Kind of sad to watch his health deteriorate over the years.
My brother was Prader-Willi, it ran in our family...skips to every other generation.
Yes, absolutely no self control. It can be disgusting what a PW sufferer will eat.
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