Comments

1
Money's not the root of all evil, but it sure seems to be a good chunk of phloem to this one.
2
Jesus Christ Dan between Youth Pastor Watch and this you are coming back from the VayKay with guns-ablazing..
3
Oh the difference in this sentence if the perp was not white and rich...
4
Yep, the rich are just sooooo oppressed in today's society. Just like the Jews under Nazi Germany! Why, they're almost unable to get away with literal child rape and manslaughter! Those poor dears...
5
That whole article is disgusting. The man and his crimes are disgusting and the justification the judge and defense attorneys use is disgusting too.
6
Generally, why do child rape sentences tend to get be lighter than child porn?
7
@6 my guess would be because you just made that up.
8
We have two justice systems in this country: one for people with money, who can afford representation, & one for the poor slobs who can't.

Thus a poor minority gets busted for a joint & serves time, while this disgusting mess of a human being doesn't, for *raping his children*.

Thanks for the early kick in the bile, Dan.. :/
9
Wow, caught this line from the story:

His wife, Tracy Richards told police he admitted abusing his daughter, when she confronted her then-husband, and that he explained , “it was an accident and he would never do it again.”

So is not faring well in prison going to be a reason lawyers can cite now at sentencing hearings?
10
@7: In this case my dear, I wish you were right. Or not even rape, neglect and torture! They get plea deals of criminal mistreatment and spend a few years in prison. Then do a search on child porn arrests and those sentences are often mandatory 5, 20, or even life. There are reports of judges being very exasperated by this.
Even the most evil crimes and punishment must be calibrated justly.
11
"It was an accident"?? How does one accidentally abuse a toddler?
12

“it was an accident and he would never do it again.”

Toby Ziegler: You accidentally slept with a prostitute?
Sam Seaborn: A call girl.
Toby Ziegler: Accidentally?
Sam Seaborn: Yes.
Toby Ziegler: I don't understand. Did you trip over something?
(West Wing, 1x02)
13

The du Pont family is very, very old money. There are many heirs, but not all off them are rich. Some are "on salary", maybe getting a middle class wage of $75,000 or $90,000 from the endowment just for being a du Pont.
14
Holy fucking shit.
15
"Money doesn't buy you friends, but it gets you a better class of enemy" - Spike Milligan
16
@10 - I have no idea if whether the sentencing discrepancy you're describing actually exists, but I remember this much from my criminal procedure class: contraband possession crimes like drug possession or child porn are crimes of strict liability. You possessed the illegal thing? You are guilty unless an affirmative defense is applicable. As long as the chain of custody is intact, this is much easier to prove beyond a reasonable doubt than a crime involving an act not witnessed by anyone but the perpetrator and the victim. (Even where the act itself is a strict liability offense, like statutory rape.) Thus, there is less incentive for a prosecutor to cut a deal to close a such a case.

Because the vast majority of criminal cases are disposed of with plea deals, I could well imagine the average sentence being longer for an original charge of possession of child porn than an original charge of actual child abuse.

As distortions introduced in the criminal justice system by the power of the prosecutor and the prevalence of the plea deal go, this is pretty minor - but a good example.
17
Fuck off Bailo.
18
Prosecutor Renee Hrivnak should be raked over coals.... along w/ Judge Jan Jurden who accepted the plea.

"prosecutor Renee Hrivnak offered Richards a plea to a single count of fourth-degree rape"
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/natio…
19
@6 as far as I can tell it's because of patriarchy and rape culture. but #16 has a much more well thought out even-keeled response.
20
I don't understand why he his probation didn't include him being barred from contact with his children. It's like the judge wanted to just let him off the hook entirely.
21
@6 how long was your child porn sentence?
22
@21: Knock it off. Not cool.
23
@6 most child porn cases are federal while most child rape are state. Feds have the draconian man mins that often force even the best-represented defendants to plea or risk consequences that are much worse. and, possession of child porn is pretty hard to defend...
24
If only we had our birth tax on the rich (say one million per child) this never would have happened, because they're too greedy to spend that sort of money.

The rich should be taxed for being born, alive, being alive, and finally having the decency to die.
25
Stories like this make me think that the world is surely coming to an end. And they make me welcome it.
26
The state of Delaware has been a wholly owned subsidiary of the Du Pont corporation for longer than anyone commenting here has been alive. And judges in Delaware are appointed, not elected. You do the math.
27
I remember a couple of Savage Lovecasts where Dan had a Canadian sex researcher on to answer the questions of pedophiles (people who hadn't hurt anyone but were attracted to children). He had mentioned that in Germany, and somewhat in Canada, they had found that creating support systems and ongoing therapy for pedophiles made it much less likely that they would offend. I wonder if that is kind of what this judge was going for? Though since he did rape his daughter, he should be receiving both punitive and rehabilitative sentences. But if it had been than he had child porn or something on his computer, then maybe he should have gotten therapy instead of prison.
28
Delaware judges may be impeached by a majority of the house of representatives and convicted by two thirds of the senate. Seems like their needs to be some pressure put on these legislators to remove this judge from the bench. Something needs to be done about that idiot prosecutor as well. Would be interesting to see how her bank account was impacted by this plea deal that she offered up.
29
*there
30
If you are outraged at the sentence as I am. I kindly ask you to take a moment to sign my petition. To add your voice to others to hold the Judge in this case accountable. In her ruling. The judge cited. "He would not fare well in Prison" no one fares well. That doesn't mean because your born rich you should avoid justice.

I believe we should hold the judge accountable. This man raped his own 3 year old daughter for two years and wasn't sentenced to a day in prison. Add your voice to the others and make yourself heard. We can make a difference.

http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/to-have…
31
This guy's place is inside a prison, for life, because he destroyed the life of two humans from their very infancy.

This judge's place is also inside a prison, because he chose to let someone he knew had already destroyed one life, destroy another. He's complicit in the molestation of a toddler.

Besides, how does this rich white man's justice work ? Are the victims not Du Pont, and therefore utterly rich too ?
32
Was the judge a Catholic bishop?
Because he thinks like a Catholic bishop.

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