Judge Who Told Accused Sex Offender to Write to His 13-Year-Old Victim Wasn't Totally Wrong

dinsdag 24 september 2013

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota
by Ericka Sóuter 2 hours ago

Judge Shari Michels caused quite a controversy recently by telling a cop accused of sexting and groping a 13-year-old girl that he could write a letter to his victim. Sounds crazy, right. Understandably, people freaked out. How could this officer of the court encourage and allow such a thing? But as horrific as it sounds, Judge Michels is not totally off her rocker.

At the hearing for former New York City police officer Modesto Alamo after his arrest for forcible touching and endangering the welfare of a minor, Judge Michels seemed to take pity on the man. Though she ordered him to stay away from the young girl, she also said, "If you feel that there is a need for communication, write it down, put it in the envelope, and put a date on it, and in the future, if you want to give them that information, you can do that then."

Not surprisingly, her words have enraged the girl's family and I am sure countless others. But while this judge may not be best equipped to provide counseling or therapy to this alleged criminal, her actions do highlight an important issue that is often ignored. Sexual predators have an illness and they need to be helped in addition to being punished. Why help him, you may ask? Because one day he will be back on the street.

If they do not learn how to deal with their illegal sexual proclivities, they are doomed to repeat them. I have no idea what the best approach is to helping someone with this problem. Michels also ordered him to have a psychological evaluation and get treatment after he reportedly talked of suicide. I imagine different sex offenders may need different things to eradicate or suppress those despicable urges. But I am 100 percent sure that they need some kind of intervention beyond just being locked up.

With all the furor her advice has caused, Judge Michels has since issued an apology through a spokesman. She regrets what her decision may have made the victim feel and did not intend to offend anyone. I buy that. The important thing to remember is that she was trying to make sure Alamo found a way to deal with his demons and not become a repeat offender. Can we really blame her for that?

What do you think of Judge Michel's advice to this defendant? Do you think sexual predators should get counseling?

Image via Hey Paul Stuidos/Flickr

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Ericka Sóuter

is a veteran pop culture and celeb news writer. That experience boils down to two things: she knows way too much about the Kardashians and she dominates on Trivial Pursuit's arts and entertainment questions.

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Horrifying ‘Lizzy Seeburg’ Sign Publicly Disrespects Rape Victim in Front of the World

maandag 9 september 2013

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AppId is over the quota
by Janelle Harris 4 hours ago

On Saturday, ESPN aired its annual College GameDay and, as part of the infectious hype and hullaballoo, thousands of manic game-goers put their Sharpies to some serious work to show off the wittiness they’ve been cultivating at their respective institutions. There were plenty of Manti Te'o “Catfish” jokes at the Notre Dame-Michigan game, but one sign stood out for its pure inappropriateness. It read “Hi Lizzy Seeberg,” hoisted high above the crowd.  

When a rape accuser dies, can she really ever rest in peace? Not if a Michigan fan has access to poster board and a little bit of television airtime.

In 2010, Seeberg—then a 19-year-old freshman at St. Mary's College, a school across the street from Notre Dame—accused one of ND’s players of sexually assaulting her. She did what she was supposed to do, reporting the incident to authorities, but the treatment of her case lacked concern and urgency which, according to a later report, is apparently how Notre Dame routinely treats women who call out incidents of violent sexual crime.

Days later, she got a text from the player’s friend telling her that "messing with Notre Dame football is a bad idea" and threatening her to not “do anything you would regret." Just over a week after she bravely contacted university powers-that-be, she died on an overdose of depression and anxiety meds.

That’s not anything anyone in any frame of their right mind could make a lighthearted zinger out of. Lizzy Seeberg couldn’t see that sign because Lizzy Seeberg is dead. You know, because no one with any power to help her was taking her case seriously and also, the jock culture zombies were harassing her while her life was in full upheaval.

Security is now reevaluating its sign-screening process, but the jokemaker himself allegedly emailed Deadspin to defend his actions. It might take you until happy hour to read his diatribe in its entirety, but he’s claiming he was actually memorializing Seeberg (even though, in this picture, his Cheshire cat grin kind deflects any semblance of good-intentioned empathy):

 
“Notre Dame isn't just chicken in not playing Michigan. Notre Dame is, among other things, chicken for not having the spine to even say anything to the family of a girl while they have her blood on their hands. Notre Dame, in all facets, is chicken.”

Then he added this: “We don't sit on problems at Michigan. We address them. And if someone wants to come into our house, with the glaring arrogance of Notre Dame, those problems will be addressed. Because once again, this is Michigan.”

And also this: “Everyone is important, Notre Dame. Everyone has value, Notre Dame. You don't treat a victim this way, or her family this way, Notre Dame. And if you don't, you will be called out on it. Because you're at Michigan.”

Smacks of a rally cry and a way to rattle the opponent rather than a heartfelt way to pay homage to the memory of Lizzy Seeberg. Folks' allegiances can get all kinds of misguided and tangled up with the culture of competitive sports and that breeds the ugliest kind of insensitivity. Because God forbid justice interrupt the sanctimonious football program.

Barring those containing profanity, do you think signs should be screened or censored? 

Image via hashtag2014/Flickr

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Kidnap Victim Hannah Anderson Goes Public for the First Time Since Her Ordeal (VIDEO)

vrijdag 16 augustus 2013

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AppId is over the quota
by Sasha Brown-Worsham 3 hours ago

Kidnap victim Hannah Anderson has made her first public appearance since her horrific ordeal last week that left her mother and brother dead at the hands of long-time family friend James DiMaggio. She came out to a public fundraiser at the Lakeside Boll Weevil restaurant in San Diego where 20 percent of their sales were going to the Anderson family. She looked subdued and maybe even freaked out by all the media attention, which isn't surprising given how much people have been focused on her this week.

Anderson, 16, was kidnapped two weekends ago after DiMaggio, a man she called "Uncle Jimmy," killed her mother Christina and 8-year-old brother Ethan, then picked her up from cheerleading practice and drove into the woods where he hid out from the police for days. A pair of hikers spotted the "couple" and reported them, which ultimately saved Anderson's life. DiMaggio was killed during a gun fight with the police.

See below:

The family's ordeal has been unimaginable and, according to her father, they have many large expenses as a result. But Hannah's behavior in the days since her rescue have caused some to begin to question things about her. This is largely taking place in the Internet comments sections of news outlets, so isn't exactly reliable or even sane in many cases, but it's happening.

Hannah or a person posing as Hannah spent a lot of time soon after her rescue on a social media site called Ask.fm. She was answering questions and posting photos of the manicure she got in honor of her mom and Ethan and also of herself goofing around with friends.

Her family hasn't denied that it's her and family friends have confirmed that it was, leading many to assume that it's authentic. If it is, it's a bit ... odd. To be sure. But also, who are we to judge how a person behaves after something like this?

She may be so deeply in shock from all that has transpired and the new, sick details -- both her mother and brother were tortured by DiMaggio and her dog was shot -- that she may just be desperate for some sense of normalcy, which she is finding through social media, manicures, and time with her friends. She is 16, after all.

What happened to her was horrendous, hideous, beyond imagining. There is no road map for behavior when you survive something like this. It's just one foot in front of the other. We should be supporting her, not judging her.

Do you think people need to lay off Hannah in the comments sections?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Sasha Brown-Worsham

can't decide whether she is a mother, writer, or runner, but is usually all three at some point each day. She has written for dozens of print magazines, newspapers, and websites. She rarely ever writes on bathroom walls.

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Kidnap Victim Hannah Anderson Had 'No Idea' Her Mom and Brother Were Killed (VIDEO)

dinsdag 13 augustus 2013

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AppId is over the quota
by Kiri Blakeley 11 hours ago

Kidnap victim Hannah Anderson has been reunited with her father after her ordeal in the Idaho mountains with murder suspect James Lee DiMaggio. More news is coming out about what happened in the mountains, and San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore gave an interview saying that Hannah had no idea that her mother, Christina Anderson, and her 8-year-old brother, Ethan, had been killed.

Gore said:

It is clear from the information that we've received, that she was under extreme duress. She was taken out of the county, out of the state, clearly against her will ... Our focus now is on trying to get Hannah all the resources, the help she needs to get through this extremely traumatic ordeal she’s been through.

DiMaggio was killed by FBI agents as he and 16-year-old Hannah hiked in the Idaho wilderness. They were spotted by four horseback riders who thought they seemed out of place and who, when they tried to make conversation with the pair, got the distinct feeling they didn't want to speak. Hannah is reported to have said, "We're in trouble now," and tried to avoid eye contact with the riders. It wasn't until the riders returned and saw the pair on TV that they knew who they were.

Gore also said that DiMaggio had fired at least one shot at agents before he was killed. Previous reports had said he was unarmed.

Hannah has been reunited with her father, Brett Anderson. She has also been reunited with her cat, which was also with them on the trip. It was one of the odd clues that led the riders to believe the two didn't belong in the woods. Said rider Mark John:

The only reason you bring a cat out there is to attract a mountain lion or a bear.

It's a good thing that Hannah was spotted when she was. Had she stayed up in the mountains any longer, who knows what DiMaggio -- or a mountain lion -- would have done to her. Asked if we'll ever know the motivation behind why DiMaggio did what he did, Gore said: "Sometimes you never know ... Clearly he had severe mental problems to do what he did."

Now Hannah will have to deal with the terrible trauma of what happened to her mom and brother.

Have you been following the case?

Image via Fox 5 San Diego

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16-Year-Old Kidnap Victim Hannah Anderson Appears 'Safe' With Murder Suspect James DiMaggio

zaterdag 10 augustus 2013

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AppId is over the quota
by Kiri Blakeley 11 hours ago

The manhunt for James DiMaggio, who is suspected of killing Christina Anderson and her 8-year-old son, Ethan, and then burning down their house in Southern California, got an enormous breakthrough when a couple on horseback believe they saw DiMaggio and 16-year-old Hannah Anderson camping in the remote wilderness of the Idaho mountains. The riders said Hannah appeared safe and unharmed. The shocking part? San Diego Sheriff Bill Gore said: "As far as we know, it didn't appear she was being held against her will." Ethan's remains were positively identified on Friday night.

DiMaggio was an avid outdoorsman and police believe the tip is very credible, especially since DiMaggio had hiked in Cascade, Idaho, near what is called "The River of No Return" before. His car was found nearby and searchers are now concentrated on the area. Law enforcement also believes that the suspect bought camping gear a few weeks ago.

DiMaggio was reportedly like "an uncle" to Hannah and Ethan, but police are working off the theory that he had developed an "unusual infatuation" with the blonde teen. It's unknown whether Hannah realizes her mother and brother had been killed. Whether she is along with DiMaggio because she thinks they are merely on a camping trip. The other possibility, that she may have been part of the plot to kill her mother and brother, will certainly be looked at by investigators, but no one should assume that yet.

Additionally, it's possible that even if she was taken against her will, she is playing along with DiMaggio because she fears him. No one will know until the two are found and Hannah can talk and the investigators can piece together what happened.

One of Hannah's friends told the Associated Press that the girl was "creeped out" by DiMaggio and "didn't want to be alone" with him.

At any rate, investigators are confident the two will soon be found, and that Hannah will be returned to her heartbroken father.

Let's hope this all comes to a safe conclusion very soon.

Anyone who spots DiMaggio should call the San Diego County Sheriff's Department's homicide unit at 858-974-2321 and after hours at 858-565-5200, or anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477.

What do you think is happening here?

Image via police

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