Last month another sex offender got a ridiculously light sentence. Again, the story from the court’s and probation office point of view was about not screwing up the sex offender’s life. (Yes, I thought about the choice of my words here.) Consider the Title of this diary your trigger warning if you need one.
How many cases are like this?
Too many.
Too many people finding excuses for treating these offenders lightly.
If you’ve read my previous diaries about sexual assault, you know I don’t pull punches on this stuff.
Ok, here’s the scoop on Joseph Presley. He’s 23 years old. He was in training to become a minister and worked at the Springfield YMCA (classic). He was a trusted adult to the family (also classic). He waited for the “best” opportunity when he first molested the then 8 year old when his parents went out of town to attend his grandmother’s funeral. He did it again when the child was 9 and prevented the child from calling his mother during the second baby sitting incident. Joseph Presley pleaded guilty to fondling the child twice and faced up to 15 years in prison. He got a 10 year SUSPENDED sentence. He’s serving 30 days and is due to get out within the next week or so.
Meanwhile, according to his mother’s testimony, the child is having nightmares, experiencing mood swings, personality changes and is also having trouble in school. His parents (again, I’m aware of my choice of words here) are mind fucked. Their ability to trust adults is pretty much gone. The father cried in front of the judge. He is hyper fearful that someone could be “preying on his son” whenever he isn’t with him. Dad says, "It's torture to live with these thoughts." (My heart goes out to this entire family. Honestly, as a child sex assault thriver, I can unequivacably state; life gets better once you decide to overcome the BS and stigma of child sex assault, and that can take awhile. I started to thrive once I realize the sex assault happened to me, but it doesn’t define me.)
Why did Joseph Presley get this light sentence? The usual. He will have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life (sounds good to me, but I’d be content if he’s re-evaluated every 5 years). This is his first offence (that we know of). He sought counseling before he was charged (crocodile tears IMO). He confessed. The judge noted the similarities between the victim and his perpetrator are “striking” -like that should be a reason to go easy? Oh, and the one that drives me right up the wall, “he was molested when he was a child”. ARRGGGHHHHH! Please note, the CDC DOES NOT LIST growing up to be a pedophile as a outcome of child maltreatment. (Here’s some facts that fuels that misconception. From this one study, two thirds (66%) of males who sexually assault kids were NEVER assaulted. About 98% of women who sexually assault kids were NEVER assaulted. Other studies concur.) Yes, we do know that about 35% of male child sex abusers were molested, but that DOES NOT flip over to mean 35% of molested boys grow up to molest children. A lot of us who were sexually assaulted as a child, like 90+% of us grow up and never commit a crime more serious than changing lanes without using a turn signal on an empty road. The consequences of child sexual abuse is quite extensive, but the list doesn’t include becoming a sex offender — it’s mostly substance abuse and DUIs. Yes, child sex assault victims are twice as likely to commit violent crime, but that includes all violent crime (like killing your abuser). Becoming a child sex offender doesn’t make the list. In fact, about 40% of child sexual assault survivors are asymptomatic.
Presley’s defense attorney Dee Wampler, did a good job for his client. Here’s his take:
“Do we really want to take a boy that’s not institutionalized, that has not been in prison before, and put him in prison with some real sex molesters, and some real rapists? So that he can really learn the trade? Is that what we want?”
I’ve got news for this attorney. Yes. Yes, I do want this guy to face the same consequences of any other sex offender. This guy might only have confessed to fondling a child twice, but he is a sex offender. He admitted to investigators that he knew what he did was wrong before he did it and did it anyway. You can downplay the seriousness of “fondling a child” all you want, but for some people 30 seconds of “inappropriate” sexual contact is all it takes. Although the YMCA spokesman says they fired Presley before he was charged and that there were no other children molested by him, that’s not a guarantee IMO as many people NEVER tell anyone about being molested….for years, ... if ever. Had this man not been caught and stopped, who knows how many and what more this man could have done to more children. All right, past performance is not necessarily a predictor of future behavior, except when it comes to sexually assaulting children, it is.
Joseph Presley’s statement to the court strikes the right chord…..almost.
"I am incredibly disappointed in myself and sorry for my actions. There is no excuse," he said. "I am doing everything in my power to heal and get better."
I checked with Giacomo Bologna (Jack) who wrote the story for the News-Leader, and yes, that’s all he said. Well I’m glad he’s sorry and he admits that there is no excuse for his behavior. Yes, I hope he heals. ….You know, as a child sex assault thriver, I’m not sure what I want other than for this to not have had happened. I don’t have a fantasy of seeing this man tortured in retaliation for what he has done, but man, I sure wish he acknowledged his base betrayal of an entire family’s trust. I wish he mentioned he knows that he is the cause of a great deal of familial anguish. Some acceptance that this boy is not part of the 40% of child sexual assault survivors who are able to blithely go on to their futures unbothered by what happened to them (aka are asymptomatic) any of that, would have been good. No, his statement was all about him.
Try as I might, I haven’t found the full statement made by Presley on 8-19-16, but I did find these court records:
Judgment CVC $68 - Other
Filed By: JOSEPH BARLOW PRESLEY
Defendant Sentenced
10 YRS DOC; SES; 5 YRS PROBATION with sp conditions; Dft ordered to serve 30 days shock in the gcj commencing at 3:00 p.m. on 08 19 16; Dft ordered to pay restitution int an amount to be determined for victim counseling; Dft ordered to follow conditions 1-11, as set forth at pages 9-10 of the sar; Dft ordered to continue counseling; Dft ordered to pay for victim's counseling; Dft ordered no contact with children under 18 years of age; Dft ordered MOSOP; Dft ordered substance abuse treatment per P&P; Dft ordered not to be on premises of any schools, parks, or any place wher[e] children are known to congregate; Dft ordered no internet access; $68 crime victims fee and costs. /act
I’m glad he will be paying for the child’s professional counseling and that he has to continue with his own counseling for the sex offending and substance abuse. I’m glad he will have no internet access, that he has has to avoid places where children will be and he has to register as a sex offender (which true, is a long-term consequence). At the same time, somehow, 30 days in jail is not justice for his action that is likely to stay with his victim’s family for at least a decade, maybe…. probably more.
I know the prosecutor doesn’t think 30 days is enough. I know that demanding a minimum sentence isn’t right either. What I think is that there should be a validity standard in the sentencing reports for sex offenders that assess the risks of reoffending. The reports of the judge finding similarities between the victim and the perp shouldn’t be seen as a mitigating principle in laying out a sentence. This is one case where I’m astonished to find I agree with the prosecutor. 30 days is not enough.