Posted on 01/05/2007 10:34:24 AM PST by SmithL
WILMINGTON, Del. - A man was sentenced to nine months in prison Friday for beating to death a 77-year-old man he believed had molested his 5-year-old daughter.
Robert Fontanez Jr. pleaded guilty last year to killing Bismark Vasquez. Police have said that although there was no physical evidence to support his daughter's allegations that Vasquez had fondled her, the account she gave police was consistent with what she had told her family.
In April, an infuriated Fontanez punched Vasquez so hard that Vasquez went through the back door of his home. Fontanez punched him several more times as he lay bleeding on the concrete outside, police said.
Fontanez, 27, of Elsmere, had been charged with second-degree murder but pleaded guilty to criminally negligent homicide.
Superior Judge Joseph Slights III sentenced Fontanez to far less than the maximum five years, telling him, "The circumstances surrounding this crime were taken into consideration by the state" and the court.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Don't know how I feel about this one. I'm glad they took the circumstances into account.
Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. Nine months is not too much to pay.
Hmm. I have mixed feelings here. I have no problem with beating someone who molests your child, and if the perp croaks, tough nuts. But, is that the case here?
Seems fair. We can't issue free passes to anyone who "thinks" he is administering justice, but a highly reduced sentence for someone "protecting" children like this seems reasonable...
The suspect who was killed had not been convicted of a crime. There have been plenty of cases were a person has been accused of rape/molestation only to find out later the charges were bogus because the accuser(s) had made it up.
Now, I have a feeling the suspect was guilty in this case but I still don't believe in vigilantism.
Mitigating circumstances aside, a person is dead. This man committed premeditated murder and got only 9 months. Where's the justice in that?
Ever since some wicked person figured out that you could use child molestation as a club in divorce cases, the number of allegations has skyrocketed.
And false reports beget more false reports. Once the barrier to perjury is broken, it happens more often.
Add to that the overemphasis on sex education and "good touch, bad touch" classes in the schools . . . and I could see a kid with an overactive imagination getting "bad touch" out of a hug or accidental contact.
I'd want more than a little kid's say-so before I started beating on the accused.
Yes I know how this nation feels about children("its for the children"), but this is ridiculous. Anyone can do anything now without having to prove anything. Since when did this stop being the land of law ? This is nothing short of second degree murder, or first if it can be proved, and should be treated as such.
For beating an innocent man to death.
I was not saying that the man did not get a heavy enough sentence. I was, rather, saying that he did not get too heavy a sentence.
For the kid's sake, I hope her story is true. Can you imagine how she would feel if it were a fake story? What a thing to bear for the rest of her life.
But, Al Sharpton would say something like, "Even if it wasn't true, it COULD have been the right guy."
Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. Nine months is not too much to pay.
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Right. Just remember to take comfort in that thought if you are ever falsely accused and you are on the receiving end of "justice."
I believe in capital punishment for genuine molesters. Sometimes kids will say what they think you want to hear. Remember the McMasters day care case?
For beating an innocent man to death.
You seem certain he was innocent. I'm not so sure either way. Either way taking the law into your own hands and killing someone is not the way to go. But I can understand the fury of the father in this case.
If there had been ANY admissible evidence of guilt, I'd be sympathetic. In this case, it appears that there was none.
The 'heat of passion' defense should be good to get past a first degree murder charge, but the guy deserves serious time.
30 years ago, I took a friend to the police station to sign papers to get his stolen car thet the police had recovered. While standing there, a detective thought I looked like a perp who had strongarmed a paperboy. Next thing I know, I was picked out of a lineup. Fotuneately, I had a rock solid alibi.
I'm sure glad the kid's dad didn't kill me before I was cleared.
There is a little known law here in Texas,,,
"Some folks just need kill'n"
Its actually a fairly successful defense in Tx courts.
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