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4stargeneralbulldog Starting Rotation
Joined: 26 Aug 2012 Posts: 739
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Posted: Tue Aug 23, 2016 6:40 am Post subject: Athlete sexually assaults 2 unconcious women, will get probation and won't register as sex offender |
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Quote: | In April, East Longmeadow High School senior David Becker was charged with sexually assaulting two of his classmates at a party while they were unconscious. Prosecutors recommended that the three-sport athlete be found guilty, MassLive.com reported, on two counts of indecent assault and battery. The recommended sentence from the Hampden County District Attorney’s Office was two years in prison.
Today, MassLive.com reported what the judge decided: Palmer District Court Judge Thomas Estes continued the case without a finding for two years, which will include drug testing and an evaluation for sex offender treatment. He will not have any jail time. He will not have to register as a sex offender. The offense won’t appear on his record as long as he fulfills the terms of his probation. He will receive a conviction only if he reoffends. The report doesn’t say what explanation, if any, Estes gave for his decision.
Becker’s attorney Thomas Rooke told MassLive.com that Becker received such a lenient sentence because anything harsher would have impeded his chances of having a college experience in Ohio.
“He can now look forward to a productive life without being burdened with the stigma of having to register as a sex offender,” said attorney Thomas Rooke, who defended David Becker, 18, in court. “The goal of this sentence was not to impede this individual from graduating high school and to go onto the next step of his life, which is a college experience.”
He then played the “we all make mistakes” card, quite literally.
“We all made mistakes when we were 17, 18, 19 years old, and we shouldn’t be branded for life with a felony offense and branded a sex offender,” Rooke said. “Putting this kid in jail for two years would have destroyed this kid’s life.”
But what about the lives of the two victims? MassLive.com, citing court documents, said Becker was charged with penetrating both of them with his finger while they were unconscious, according to court documents. Here is what MassLive.com reported they told school resource Officer Michael Ingalls, who heard a rumor and reached out to them:
... the victims told him they had been drinking at the Allen Street home of a classmate whose father was out of town. The party broke up at about 11:30 p.m., when their friend’s 22-year-old sister arrived home and told the teenage revelers to leave.
Becker, the victims and another friend stayed at the house and helped clean. After they finished, one of the victims said, both girls went into an upstairs bedroom—one requiring assistance walking up the stairs—and Becker later came in to talk, before they all fell asleep in the same bed. Each reported waking up to Becker sexually assaulting them.
In a text message to one of the victims the next day, Becker apologized for the assault, court records show. The victim responded with a text telling Becker “don’t even worry about it,” but later told police that she said this because “she did not know what else to say,” Ingalls’ police report states.
Neither victim was at the court hearing. One did say in her victim impact statement that she did not believe jail time was needed, James Leydon, spokesman for the district attorney’s office, told MassLive. But prosecutors still recommended jail time because “we also considered the aggravating factors.”
The MassLive.com ended on the typical local reporting note of different people giving different opinions. One person thought the results were fair, another said the judge’s decision reflected Becker’s “social standing.” This case might not have ignited the same national outrage as what happened with Brock Turner, but it is a reminder that Turner’s lenient sentence and absurd non-apology was far from a one-time only result. |
http://deadspin.com/high-school-athlete-charged-with-sexually-assaulting-tw-1785620665 |
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ContagiousInspiration Franchise Player
Joined: 07 May 2014 Posts: 13811 Location: Boulder ;)
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Posted: Tue Aug 23, 2016 6:49 am Post subject: |
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Clicked link only to check the race of the athlete
good ol Amerikkka |
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rwongega Franchise Player
Joined: 20 Jul 2005 Posts: 20510 Location: UCLA -> NY
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LakersChamps04 Star Player
Joined: 06 Oct 2003 Posts: 3737
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Posted: Tue Aug 23, 2016 11:11 am Post subject: |
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let me guess..hes white? |
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Reflexx Franchise Player
Joined: 25 Jun 2005 Posts: 11163
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Posted: Tue Aug 23, 2016 12:07 pm Post subject: |
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The headline angered me. Admittedly, I was also upset at his race.
I am a little less angry because the victims seemed to want a more lenient sentence. He should be forever grateful for their capacity for forgiveness and kindness. I'm guessing they are friends.
But I'm sure there are incidents where a black student would have been treated differently. In this exact place and time with this judge? I don't know. But there's enough of it happening to of course bring it into question.
So am I upset at the decision for leniency? Not really since the victims wanted that.
But it does make me feel sorrow for other cases where the victims wanted leniency for a "mistake" made by a friend, but that leniency wasn't given. |
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doughboy90650 Franchise Player
Joined: 20 Apr 2006 Posts: 15294 Location: Southern California
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Posted: Tue Aug 23, 2016 9:53 pm Post subject: |
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See Brian Banks. Still pissed at that (bleep) |
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tlim Star Player
Joined: 26 Jun 2002 Posts: 6648
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Posted: Wed Aug 24, 2016 9:03 am Post subject: |
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Reflexx wrote: | The headline angered me. Admittedly, I was also upset at his race.
I am a little less angry because the victims seemed to want a more lenient sentence. He should be forever grateful for their capacity for forgiveness and kindness. I'm guessing they are friends.
But I'm sure there are incidents where a black student would have been treated differently. In this exact place and time with this judge? I don't know. But there's enough of it happening to of course bring it into question.
So am I upset at the decision for leniency? Not really since the victims wanted that.
But it does make me feel sorrow for other cases where the victims wanted leniency for a "mistake" made by a friend, but that leniency wasn't given. |
How does one know if the victims were coerced and bullied to give him a lighter sentence? Being just 18, what the repercussions would be for the victims to testify and somehow be outed that they were in that position in the first place. My next question would be to you and to her is, do you think your own daughter/son should do the same thing? |
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Reflexx Franchise Player
Joined: 25 Jun 2005 Posts: 11163
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Posted: Wed Aug 24, 2016 9:09 am Post subject: |
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tlim wrote: | Reflexx wrote: | The headline angered me. Admittedly, I was also upset at his race.
I am a little less angry because the victims seemed to want a more lenient sentence. He should be forever grateful for their capacity for forgiveness and kindness. I'm guessing they are friends.
But I'm sure there are incidents where a black student would have been treated differently. In this exact place and time with this judge? I don't know. But there's enough of it happening to of course bring it into question.
So am I upset at the decision for leniency? Not really since the victims wanted that.
But it does make me feel sorrow for other cases where the victims wanted leniency for a "mistake" made by a friend, but that leniency wasn't given. |
How does one know if the victims were coerced and bullied to give him a lighter sentence? Being just 18, what the repercussions would be for the victims to testify and somehow be outed that they were in that position in the first place. My next question would be to you and to her is, do you think your own daughter/son should do the same thing? |
I'm going to take these women at their word. I don't think we should assume coercion without evidence because that can happen with any witness in any trial. It would make the idea of having testimony for anything in any trial useless.
Would I want my children to do this? Of course not. |
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unleasHell Franchise Player
Joined: 16 Apr 2001 Posts: 11591 Location: Stay Thirsty my Friends
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Posted: Wed Aug 24, 2016 5:30 pm Post subject: |
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Bill Cosby should get his lawyer.. _________________ “Always remember... Rumors are carried by haters, spread by fools, and accepted by idiots.” |
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tlim Star Player
Joined: 26 Jun 2002 Posts: 6648
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Posted: Thu Aug 25, 2016 11:45 am Post subject: |
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Reflexx wrote: |
Would I want my children to do this? Of course not. |
That's kind of my point. The position taken by the young women seems like an incredulous one to take. It almost seems incomprehensible. But both them said to let him off?
That doesn't seem to jive with almost anyone and yet *both* girls said it wasn't that bad.
This sounds like positions that only ISIS women would say was their fault or was OK with and again, the easy sentence pleas seems pretty ridiculous. |
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