Justice system fails

And yet some insist that we have "mass incarceration", apparently not in this case.

 

The Atlanta paper has more information:

Gwinnett man gets time served after sexually abusing captive teen

Apparently it was a weird fetish thing where the issue of consent was blurred (and the age of consent in Georgia is 16). Disturbing, yes, but it's not exactly a black-and-white situation.

 

What’s blurry about “sexual captivity for over a year???”

 

How is the whole topic not political?

 

We still think you should be in prison.

 

Did she consent to it?

 

Well obviously.

 

Also, the victim's family pushed for this plea so he'd get put on the sex offender registry, which was no guarantee if he went to trial.

 

Yeah, I'd take that file with three hours prep time and guarantee a win at trial.

Juries are smarter than most defense attorneys.

Too many lazy or scared (or both) prosecutors.

 

“Captivity” implies she did not. He pleaded guilty. I’m not seeing the fuzzy gray area in this situation.

 

She consented to a sexual relationship where saying "no" was part of the role-play, and encouraged him to do other highly extreme things to her (such as starving her). Is it that much of a stretch for the defendant to plausibly assert that she consented to the confinement?

I'm not defending him and of course he deserves a greater punishment, but he's got a defense, and the victim's family is understandably skittish about putting her through an embarrassing public trial where he has a nonzero chance of getting acquitted.

I'd like to know why he doesn't face federal kidnapping charges. Taking a minor across state lines for sexual purposes sounds like it could be pursued, even if she was over the age of consent in the destination state.

 

Will he be able to vote?

 

In the AJC story it says the victim and her family did not want to go to trial and were willing to forgo him pleading to a charge that would have brought more time, but not having to register as a sex offender. Still seems odd which makes me suspect there's more to the story. The Gwinnett Co. DAs office actually has a very good (and well deserved) reputation and the DA, Danny Porter, is very respected throughout the state. He is one of the, if not the, longest serving DAs in Georgia. I actually know him slightly, and nobody around here would ever claim he's soft on crime.

 

Yes he has a legal defense, which is why sometimes individuals need to seek justice in other more direct ways. Like say telling everyone around him what he did so that his life becomes a total nightmare.

 

I wonder what the girl’s parents had to say...

 

If it was my daughter I'd want him released also. Torturing and killing the **** out of that pos would be much tougher to pull off if he was incarcerated.