Ex-Professor Sentenced to 20 years

Hartford Courant ^ | February 16, 2002 | Janice D'Arcy

[T'wit]

NEW HAVEN -- The prosecutor stood before the judge and bluntly described the defendant's crimes: former Yale professor Antonio Lasaga had repeatedly raped a little boy and had obsessively collected tens of thousands of images depicting the sexual torture of children.

The crimes are not in dispute. They were horrific enough that Lasaga's family wept in court Friday when they heard them recounted.

They were horrific enough to merit, in the judge's view, a 20-year sentence.

[T'wit]

Wow, am I rusty at posting! It has been a long time. But this bit of courtroom soap was too good to pass up and I didn't find it posted yet.

Trust the pointy-head professors to stand up for a sadistic homosexual child raper.

[piasa]

When should moral outrage trump professional respect?

I can't believe people are even asking this question... moral outrage ALWAYS trumps 'professional respect.' Without morality there can be no respect, professional or otherwise.

As for the professor's books- take the proceeds he was making on the book and put them in this kid's education fund.

[07055]

When should moral outrage trump professional respect? "But the professor was doing such a good job."

"This child rape thing was in his private life."

"Who are we to cast stones? None of us is without some sin."

"His actions don't rise to the level of a crime given that a poll of the professors shows they support him."

"Hockey dad only got six years---and this kid is still alive so the professor deserves probation."

What a bunch of moral midget these professors are.

[murdoog]

It seems there is a middle ground between speaking up for him at his sentencing and boycotting his book, especially if it's as good as the article suggests.

I myself am a pointy headed professor, and my biggest problem with using a book by someone like this guy (who, let me make clear, I think is a monster and probably got too light a sentence), would be that he would make money from it. It would have been good if, as part of the sentence, profits from sales of his textbook went to his victims.

[murdoog]

who, let me make clear, I think is a monster and probably got too light a sentence

To be clearer still, strike the word "probably"

[Asclepius]

... "In all my years as a prosecutor, I have never heard people deliver comments so disconnected with reality" ...

Welcome to academia, counselor.

[bigfootbob]

I believe because of Sam Berkowitz, (Son of Sam killer), felons cannot profit from their actions. Monies from book deals, movies, etc. goes to a "federal victims fund".

[hinckley buzzard]

Nice to see that Yale is striving to keep up with harvard in its race to the bottom of the ethical barrel. Blue-Zone profs have been covering for each other for years.

At one point in the last couple years nearly a dozen faculty from Harvard Medical School were under scrutiny for sexual and other forms of malpractice.

Doris Kearns Goodwin covered for one female prof whose perverted molestations drove a young male patient to suicide in a notorious case.

Life is so sophisticated out East.

[GuillermoX]

Further evidence that liberal Academia doesn't regard pedophelia as wrong.

[piasa]

Yeah, I'll take the simple midwestern life over sophisticated eastern life any day. There is something wonderful about a place where mentoring children means to take them fishing or to have them help you construct a barn or fix a car; but that Eastern-style academic 'mentoring' turns my gut.

[eddie willers]

Further evidence that liberal Academia doesn't regard pedophelia as wrong.

Baseball shows greater ethics by keeping Pete Rose out of the Hall.

[eddie willers]

Oh....and welcome back, T'wit.

[McGavin999]

I think we had better take a good, long look at what kind of people are teaching our kids. I don't care what their academic credentials are, if they have no more commonsense than this they should be unemployed "professors".

These mental midgets are not fit to teach.

[concerned about politics]

"When you penalize Tony for his indiscretions, you also penalize society,"

No, you penalize society by NOT throwing this perv in prison for the rest of his life.

repeatedly raped a little boy and had obsessively collected tens of thousands of images depicting the sexual torture of children.

Remember, homosexuals are just like you.

"He is in his most productive years,"

And the childs life is irrelivant. Save the liberal perv. Abort the kid?

"In all my years as a prosecutor, I have never heard people deliver comments so disconnected with reality."

Welcome to the politically correct world of Satanic liberalism. Sorry, sir, but "everybody does it."

I'll bet everyone in that courtroom, other than the Lucifer lefties, has just become a new conservative voter in favor of school choice.

[gitmo]

He can continue his geological studies in a rock pile. He should be good at breaking big rocks into little ones. His defenders sound like the Clinton defenders. Sure he did some naughty stuff in his private life, but he's doing a good job.

[ExSoldier]

Liberal academia may not look at child molestation as being "bad" but speaking as a former state probation and parole officer, let me tell you that all those convicts in the prison may be there for horrible crimes like murder or drug running, but they ALL have families and many have kids. Take it from me....his time in prison will be short lived and intensely painful. In fact, he'll probably cell with some 350 pound dude who wants to be his "friend." Just watch some of the more recent episodes of the HBO series "OZ" and you'll get the idea....

[ArneFufkin]

His research has broken new ground in geology

[concerned about politics]

But....but.....the NEA does it all "for the children."

[cajungirl]

I dunno about middle ground. I thought this debate was settled in the case of the Nazi physicians who did all those studies on people who were being killed,,like how long did it take to die at various temperatures. There was a debate about whether their data was fit to be used, I think the great weight of opinion was that is was not and was an outrage. Now this guy didn't use his data on his child rape to write papers, but from now on no respectable journal should publish anything he writes. Why should he get the pleasure of professional admiration or accolades when he has ruined one kid's life. One that we know of. Pedophilia rarely just one victim unless of course it is within the family, then there may be three or four. Most of these lepers use and abuse and ruin the lives of hundreds of kids. Academics who testify as these guys did deserve an email response to let them know what we think of them and their moral stupidity.