Posted on 01/03/2012 3:30:48 PM PST by Gamecock
The cops built a case based on just the accusation
Do you believe that we should destroy a man's life just based on an accusation?
do you believe that if a man works with kids and there is a baseless allegation made, he should immediately be cast into the cold and abandoned by his community? Answer those questions please.
The man was found not guilty was he not? That’s what the courts are for. And the accusation apparently had enough for police to go after him...which they rightly should have.
Innocent people aren’t cast into the cold and abandoned by their community unless they choose to believe the courts determined wrongfully. You cannot dictate what people choose or not to believe.
Similar stories have been told concerning the prayer beads in Africa, Haiti, and other nations where pagan religions use them as some form of magical arts. Hindus and Buddists also use them. ...which lends to wonder how many of these aren’t really the enemy of mens souls attempting to keep them bound to their relics...for we know he counterfeits Gods works.
Secondly, the man's life and reputation are ruined for good
Thirdly, at what point do we just go on verbal accusation and not on proof?
you said Innocent people aren’t cast into the cold and abandoned by their community -- well, the Wisconsin man WAS innocent and abandoned by the community. it was only that he had GPS that saved him from jail. Communities toss the guy into the cold with no support
it's a contradiction of innocent until proven guilty.
If there is proof, fry the guy, I agree. But if it is just verbal accusations, if we just made a show about the man, you ruin his reputation for life.
come on, don't you think that the man's reputation is now tarnished irreparably? People will always put "child molestor" connected to that man even though the evidence proves that it was a false accusation (and the girl later withdrew it) -- how many of these false accusations are bandied about?
As I said above - if the evidence points that way and he is proven guilty, fry him. If there is just hearsay or verbal accusations, investigate, but remember that the man's reputation, indeed his life (which is tied to his reputation) is in balance.
Anyone knows that when it comes to children it’s better safe than sorry later. That’s just how it is. The man can always pick up and move to another area and start over again of he determines that’s his best course....an abused child has no such option.
the man can always pick up and move and start over again? You mean it IS ok to destroy a man's reputation and life with a false accusation? Come on.
the man can always pick up and move and start over again? You mean it IS ok to destroy a man's reputation and life with a false accusation? Come on.
Also, what happened to 'innocent until proven guilty'? These verbal accusations should be investigated, but quietly as if they are with no evidence, then they should not be prosecuted.
Don't you get it? The man's life is destroyed, irreparably. He was falsely accussed of molesting a kid and when it was proven thanks to GPS that this was false, THEN, when confronted with this, the 11-year-old admitted her allegations were false -- the 11-year old will get away with nothing, the man's life is destroyed. he will be silently blackballed.
he cannot as you say "pick up and move to another area and start over again " -- the internet age means that his name is forever tied to this accusation and his name, reputation and life are d e s t r o y e d.
Innocent until proven guilty, THEN give the guy death or worse.
It’s very difficult to begin with to even bring up an accusation to the court...as follows....
The child molester is going to deny ever doing anything wrong, often they will offer proof of their innocence by offering names of other children they have been around or character witnesses who they know would never believe such a thing. The next legal move is to get everything from the victim interview, exam and the accused interview to the prosecutor. The prosecutor will then want to visit with the victim, explain the process, many times let the parents know right from the beginning that they will do everything in the power of the law to get a conviction; however, because of shows like CSI and Law &Order many jury’s find it hard to convict a sex offender when it is their word against a child’s. Of course no parent would be willing to give up that easily and want to pursue in the conviction, the next move is to take the evidence in front of the grand jury. When and if the grand jury decides to proceed, it is at that time an arrest and a bail is set. Keep in mind from start the child coming forward to the grand jury decision the time frame is 3-6 months. Once the arrest is made there are pretrial’s and motions that will last at least 6 months to a year, parents who can’t take much more are usually left with 2 option, allow for plea deal of time served or the accused does not have to be on the sex offender registry, or they can drop the charges and move on. As time moves forward if the victim and parents can hang on, when the trial approaches they get to listen to accusation of what is going to said to their child, and possibly what they will be accused of. The days of leading up to the trial will offer many plea offers, rejections, just a complete emotional roller coaster at which time the trial will begin.
In conclusion to convict a sex offender it is no easy task, nor is it a quick one. In total 1-2 years is normal to gain a conviction, if a family is lucky when the arrest is made the accused sex offender may not be able to make bond, leaving them in jail until after they are convicted. Of course that is if the jury selected actually convicts the accused, remember a victim that has been through counseling for over a year is not going to appear as traumatized as one that was just molested
And again, for the umpteenth time, the problem is KNOWN sex offenders, many of which have admitted what they did, being shuffled around and protected by their superiors until the RCC was FORCED to deal with this when the bad publicity offered them no options.
THAT’S the travesty.
Likely if the molesting priest and culpable covering up hierarchy hadn’t given people reason to make false accusations, there wouldn’t be any and I really don’t believe that there are all that many false accusations against priests. They are held in too high regard by the laity.
The thought of impropriety of that kind by a priest or nun NEVER entered my mind as a Catholic. I find it hard to believe that a child would make up that kind of accusation against a priest of all people, even if they knew what sex was. Even a child has the fear of priests and their ability to retain their sins and condemn them ingrained into them and even a child is more than capable of realizing that when it’s a he said/she said situation between an adult and a child, the adult will be believed by default.
A child coming forth with details that no child should know should be taken seriously.
Cronos...I don’t care that the man’s life was ruined in his eyes....he can recover and will. But you thinking accusations should be kept quiet certainly attests to the catholic way of going about their business in dealing with it.
What evidence would you think should be required? Authorities already have difficulty gettin grwon woman to agree to a physical exam let alone a child’s parent agreeing to that.
Bottom line you work with kids these days you better be steller in you’re approach and the time with and where...anthing other than this and you leave yourself wide open for false accusations.
you don't care? Tomorrow if you are falsely accused of some, say even child molestation (which would be false), even after being proven innocent, the stigma would still stick to you.
you wouldn't care then?
Your right...getting off track here about other than KNOWN...but it still remains a scarey thing for those unknown....
As for Priests....as I see it most of them knew or were themsleves participants...or part of the coverups...it’s not like the Priesthood wasn’t aware they were a magnet for homosexuals and pediphiles....talk to many who went to seminary...you could feel it in the air as one fellow shared....and left because of it.
I can see why when these are made known within a church and it’s membership it hits like a bullit to their very hearts. Shell shocked for a time I would think...I was more than stunned when these kept on coming..the number of cases and then the number of childdren..it ‘s been overwhelming.
I also think it’s very difficult to get ones head around the fact a “holy man”, one who represents Christ in the catholic faith especially..turns out to be a sexual preditor....and gone after the children and young boys no less. Although I’ve read some convictions of the victims as young as one year old and toddlers no less.
if tomorrow someone said "caww robbed her company of a few thousand dollars" that would be an accusation. If proven false, you would have recourse to libel and more importantly this would be only prosecuted if there was actual evidence
Similarly if someone says "caww molested someone", there should be evidence, not hearsay. If that person says it, the police SHOULD investigate, but only prosecute if there is evidence
Quite frankly I don't know what would be the evidence required, but I know it cannot be just one person accusing another of something.
In the case I cited and also in others, the person's life is destroyed in public on a verbal allegation -- for anything else that would be checked by the potential for libel, but here you say "guilty until proven innocent."?
i repeat -- just as in any other legal matter, innocent until proven guilty. ONCE proven guilty then fry the scum.
There's no evidence that this man was anything but "stellar in his approach" -- verbal, baseless accusations can hit anyone, even the most stellar. All that is needed, as you said is a verbal statement.
as you said it is guilty until proven innocent and "The man can always pick up and move to another area and start over again of he determines that’s his best course." -- the latter of which is false, no one can start again -- the baseless accusation will stick for life and the (wo)man will be haunted by the idea that people would accuse him/her of something so horrible.
yes, if there was a molestation then this is an emotional roller coaster for the child and the woman or man should fry for it.
if, however, this is no more than an accusation with no proof, then it is an emotional rollercoaster for the person accused and what is worse is that EVEN if proven innocent beyond doubt, even if, as in this case, the accuser withdraws the accusation, the muck remains, the person's reputation and life is destroyed -- they cannot "move away and pick it up again" as you state.
Tomorrow someone could accuse you or anyone of molestation with no evidence. Whether proven innocent, the stigma will remain, your life is destroyed, no matter how "stellar" you are.
As for the “stigma” a man might let grow for the ordeal....well again...move to another area...start over and get on with life...if He's a Christian he'll know how to go about that...if He's walking with the Lord then his steps will be marked.
Additionally...society is what it is today...a mess...and there are few if ever any considerations given to if or not someone is innocent before proved guilty....and it's is reversed to day in the minds of people...you do have to prove your innocence...we've seen that time and time again. It's the reality we live in...you better watch what you say and do because no one else is going to watch out for you.
Perhaps if the falsely accused priests is such an issue, someone- anyone Catholic really, could provide us with the stats showing the number of false accusations that have been made against priests.
From everything I’ve read, the number of priests who are actually guilty of molesting is staggering both in number and scope, almost no area of the world has escaped it.
Let’s see the stats on those falsely accused.
Yes the man can move on with life...unless he chooses to let the episode eat it up.
None of us forgets the wrongful judgements made against us unfairly in life...but we do move on..life is going to bring them no matter how clean living you are. In fact expect it. I’ve had my share from people in the workplace to drivers giving me the bird when they thought I was in the way. I’ve been thru the court system on a property dispute which I lost for the politics in the community and who knew who better than I. Fair no...humiliating yes. Felt it and moved on...and we all must..but we don’t forget either.
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