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News & ArtsThursday, April 16, 2009
News Headline of the Day
Posted by Dan Savage on Thu, Apr 16, 2009 at 11:18 AM
Surprisingly enough this headline has nothing to do with yesterday's mass teabaggings:
Man Faces Sex Charges for Licking Girl After Ball Attack
The story is about a twelve-year-old girl who threw a ball at man, pissed man off, man chased girl down and... licked her face. Is there any evidence that this man was lying in wait, hoping some young girl would come along and smack him in the face with a ball, thereby giving him license, or so he thought, to lick the girl's face and derive secret sexual thrills without attracting the attentions of the authorities? Obvious bone? Sticky pants? Cache of man-licks-girl-face porn at home? Because if there isn't—and none is mentioned in the brief report—it seems a bit over-the-top to charge the man with a sex crime. I'm opposed to 49-year-old men touching 12-year-olds with their tongues, as regular readers can attest, but it sounds like this man was trying to gross the girl out, not get himself off, and displayed poor judgement and lousy impulse control. But fourth-degree sexual assault charges? That seems like prosecutorial overreaction—which, like sexting, is reaching epidemic proportions.
2
prosecutorial overreaction has been at pandemic proportions ever since we evolved this concept called The Rule of Law.
Give some otherwise decent little bipedal land chimp power over his fellow land chimps and it'll go to his head before you can say 'oop oop bunga wa.'
Give some otherwise decent little bipedal land chimp power over his fellow land chimps and it'll go to his head before you can say 'oop oop bunga wa.'
3
As a child, I had friends whose parents used to intentionally gross them out by licking their faces when they were misbehaving.
4
Hmmm... I don't think it warrants ending up on the sex offender registry, but how else would you characterize this?
Any lawyers out there know what CT's penalty for 4th-degree sexual assault is?
Any lawyers out there know what CT's penalty for 4th-degree sexual assault is?
5
If the man knew the girl, I would think it was just a too-far moment and prosecutors were totally overreacting. But a complete stranger? That's really gross and weird. The sex charges are going a little far, but I think assault charges would be in order. Perhaps they just didn't have the correct law on the books to cover what happened (Assault can include spitting, but possibly not licking?), so they went with the closest applicable thing.
7
@3: a parent doing it is 100% different from a stranger doing it. There is something creepy and sexual about an adult responding to any situation by licking a child. Fuck this guy.
8
Thanks to the modern miracle known as google....
CT defines 4th degree sexual assault thusly...
"(a) A person is guilty of sexual assault in the fourth degree when: (1) Such person intentionally subjects another person to sexual contact who is (A) under fifteen years of age, or ... [rest is irrelevant]"
http://www.smith-lawfirm.com/criminal_pe…
Since it's a class A misdemeanor, he's subject to up to a year in prison and up to a $2,000 fine.
http://www.cslib.org/finespenalt.htm
Sounds like he'll have to register as a sex offender if convicted.
http://www.klaaskids.org/st-conn.htm
CT defines 4th degree sexual assault thusly...
"(a) A person is guilty of sexual assault in the fourth degree when: (1) Such person intentionally subjects another person to sexual contact who is (A) under fifteen years of age, or ... [rest is irrelevant]"
http://www.smith-lawfirm.com/criminal_pe…
Since it's a class A misdemeanor, he's subject to up to a year in prison and up to a $2,000 fine.
http://www.cslib.org/finespenalt.htm
Sounds like he'll have to register as a sex offender if convicted.
http://www.klaaskids.org/st-conn.htm
10
@7
But if this is to be considered sexual contact, having your parent do it is creepier.
This is a non-sexual assault. Not every one of the infinite ways to assault someone (actually it's a battery) is enumerated in the legal code.
But if this is to be considered sexual contact, having your parent do it is creepier.
This is a non-sexual assault. Not every one of the infinite ways to assault someone (actually it's a battery) is enumerated in the legal code.
11
We're all going to be "sex offenders" if things keep going like they are. Give the guy probation for cheese sakes.
12
Matt, About the man facing charges, You're damn right I'm happy, not about the incident happening in the first place. But what do you expect, when there are no morals on the books of a state. It's a wonder they still have the penalties you cited on the books.
By the way you're a very smart man. Too bad you don't use your intellect for good.
By the way you're a very smart man. Too bad you don't use your intellect for good.
13
Loveschild - You think stuff like this doesn't happen EVERYWHERE? Wait til one of your fellow congregants is arrested for possessing kiddie porn.
14
It takes a really baldfaced blowhard to suggest that Connecticut, the place where Blue Laws were freaking invented, has no "morals on the books".
16
@ 12 Loveschild poor simple dear. Morals hasn't stopped priests from raping children, now, has it.
17
Okay, if we're going that way, I was sexually assaulted by a 12-year-old yesterday. See, these silly tourists were taking up the whole freaking sidewalk, and my motto is (especially if I am bigger than them) just KEEP ON TRUCKING. So, she gets a little shoulder bump as I pass by, and clearly VERY INTENTIONALLY swats at me, hitting my hinie. I want her arrested, and PUT ON THE SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY FOR LIFE!!!
18
@8 Not sure about CT but in WA "simple assault" is merely an unwanted TOUCH that is ON PURPOSE.
I once sat in on a court case of felony assaulting a police officer, where the perp was pointing his finger at the officer's face and accidently touched (literally) the the very tip of the officer's nose with his finger. The act was deemed an accident by the jury so he was found not guilty of that. Funny that he had kicked some of the officers while being put into the police car but the prosecutor never charged him with that. He was found guilty of resisting arrest however because the officer had probable cause to arrest him do to touching his nose and he fought with officers.
I once sat in on a court case of felony assaulting a police officer, where the perp was pointing his finger at the officer's face and accidently touched (literally) the the very tip of the officer's nose with his finger. The act was deemed an accident by the jury so he was found not guilty of that. Funny that he had kicked some of the officers while being put into the police car but the prosecutor never charged him with that. He was found guilty of resisting arrest however because the officer had probable cause to arrest him do to touching his nose and he fought with officers.
21
Apparently, in states where there are "morals on the books" the assult of children still occurs.
http://www.kwtx.com/home/headlines/41495…
http://www.seguinviolenceshelter.org/HTM…
It appears humans mistreating humans occurs everywhere, irregardless to "morals on the books" in a particular state.
http://www.kwtx.com/home/headlines/41495…
http://www.seguinviolenceshelter.org/HTM…
It appears humans mistreating humans occurs everywhere, irregardless to "morals on the books" in a particular state.
25
Well, it could have been worse, at least he didn't pee on her.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30246016/
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30246016/
27
kresblamania@10, if some stranger comes up to my 11 year old and wraps their arms around her and gives her a big bear hug, that's sexually inappropriate. But when I do it, I'm just being an affectionate Dad. Why is this hard for you to understand?
28
27 forget it Big Sven, they can't understand because they probably don't have children of their own. You and I get it because we actually have them and we wouldn't want any adult touching our kids in anyway cause there's no reason for an adult to do that. I'm sure you're with me on this, If my kids misbehave and did what this girl did I want the man to come to me and tell me what they have done or you know what call the police but you don't need to touch needles to say put your tongue no where near my child like it was some popsicle. If you can't understand how that can be seen with some sexual connotations to it then you need to not be anywhere near children.
29
Big Sven,
Maybe, @ 10 was talking about licking. Personally, I think licking my kids face would be humilating to my child and to me.
I agree that this man does not have any justification for licking that child. His behavior was out of line. He is an adult, and as Loveschild suggested, should have acted accordingly and spoken with her parents or called the authorities. I would not be happy if some stranger licked either of my children.
On another note. I read some of your blog. My condolences on the loss of your mom. Keep up the good work on your exercise program, it's inspiring to me. You sound like a lovely husband and father.
Best wishes.
Maybe, @ 10 was talking about licking. Personally, I think licking my kids face would be humilating to my child and to me.
I agree that this man does not have any justification for licking that child. His behavior was out of line. He is an adult, and as Loveschild suggested, should have acted accordingly and spoken with her parents or called the authorities. I would not be happy if some stranger licked either of my children.
On another note. I read some of your blog. My condolences on the loss of your mom. Keep up the good work on your exercise program, it's inspiring to me. You sound like a lovely husband and father.
Best wishes.
30
Loveschild- though I don't often see eye to eye with you on social matters, I do agree with you on this one. I hate stories that pit parents against non-parents, but in this case I suspect parents feel differently.
kim- thank you! Losing weight has proven to be very, very difficult. Thanks for your words of encouragement. I'll post this week to my blog.
kim- thank you! Losing weight has proven to be very, very difficult. Thanks for your words of encouragement. I'll post this week to my blog.
31
dan! what if it was YOUR kid? being LICKED in public? without his permission or understanding? yeah, I'm sure you'd laugh it off.
yes, please, urm... law? do your job here.
dan. disappointed. seriously. just awful.
yes, please, urm... law? do your job here.
dan. disappointed. seriously. just awful.
34
I gotta go with the majority here, and find myself also agreeing with Loveschild.
Don't ever touch my child! Unless you are pushing her out of the way of a speeding car, don't touch my child.
How is licking a child an appropriate response to a child hitting him with a ball? The article doesn't say if the ball hitting him was accidental or not, but I find the whole thing disturbing because he didn't just lick her, he chased her down - which for a 12-year-old has got to be terrifying, and then he licked her.
Maybe not listed as a sex offender, but the man clearly has problems and issues.
Don't ever touch my child! Unless you are pushing her out of the way of a speeding car, don't touch my child.
How is licking a child an appropriate response to a child hitting him with a ball? The article doesn't say if the ball hitting him was accidental or not, but I find the whole thing disturbing because he didn't just lick her, he chased her down - which for a 12-year-old has got to be terrifying, and then he licked her.
Maybe not listed as a sex offender, but the man clearly has problems and issues.
35
it depends, dan - if it were *your* twelve-year-old, would you feel any differently about it?
an adult man has NO RIGHT to impose unwanted touch - especially with his fucking tongue - on ANYONE. male, female, adult or child. what exactly is your argument against calling this sexual assault? his intent? because intent has nothing to fucking do with what he did - which was assault. using his tongue only changed the *type* of assault he was charged with - the body parts a person chooses to hurt someone with is relevant to the type of assault he committed. we're agreed it was assault, i hope, right? *as a proper descriptor of* assault, 'sexual' sounds pretty right-on to me.
you really aren't this dumb, dan. you've said for years that sex has many definitions outside het intercourse, right? so why, of all the people on earth, are you having a hard time distinguishing a sexual crime from a non-sexual one in this case? it doesn't matter if he wanted to 'gross her out' or 'get himself off'. people who commit sex crimes do so out of uncontrolled ANGER, not lust. i'm reading right off the 'Basic Rape Myths 101' factsheet here, for fuck's sake. writing a sex column is your job. i'm not asking too much here, you should be clear on all this already.
yes, it's assault, and yes - it's sexual. it is, dan. holy christ, they way you put it - it's like saying 'it's only a youth pastor, what's a little indecent touch among pastor and parishionor?' well, it's the difference between consensual and non- fer the love o' mike, don't you write about this every goddamned week?
yes, he should fucking be charged with *fourth degree* sexual assault. know why there are degrees? to distinguish among levels of similar *types* of crime. and treat them appropriately.
it doesn't fucking matter what the guy has in his heart, or what he has in his goddamned porn collection. what matters is that *the specific behavior with which he's been charged* matches the definition of a CRIME. and when people are responsible for NOT CHECKING their inappropriate actions, especially with regard to unwanted contact, they are held accountable. rightly so.
More...
an adult man has NO RIGHT to impose unwanted touch - especially with his fucking tongue - on ANYONE. male, female, adult or child. what exactly is your argument against calling this sexual assault? his intent? because intent has nothing to fucking do with what he did - which was assault. using his tongue only changed the *type* of assault he was charged with - the body parts a person chooses to hurt someone with is relevant to the type of assault he committed. we're agreed it was assault, i hope, right? *as a proper descriptor of* assault, 'sexual' sounds pretty right-on to me.
you really aren't this dumb, dan. you've said for years that sex has many definitions outside het intercourse, right? so why, of all the people on earth, are you having a hard time distinguishing a sexual crime from a non-sexual one in this case? it doesn't matter if he wanted to 'gross her out' or 'get himself off'. people who commit sex crimes do so out of uncontrolled ANGER, not lust. i'm reading right off the 'Basic Rape Myths 101' factsheet here, for fuck's sake. writing a sex column is your job. i'm not asking too much here, you should be clear on all this already.
yes, it's assault, and yes - it's sexual. it is, dan. holy christ, they way you put it - it's like saying 'it's only a youth pastor, what's a little indecent touch among pastor and parishionor?' well, it's the difference between consensual and non- fer the love o' mike, don't you write about this every goddamned week?
yes, he should fucking be charged with *fourth degree* sexual assault. know why there are degrees? to distinguish among levels of similar *types* of crime. and treat them appropriately.
it doesn't fucking matter what the guy has in his heart, or what he has in his goddamned porn collection. what matters is that *the specific behavior with which he's been charged* matches the definition of a CRIME. and when people are responsible for NOT CHECKING their inappropriate actions, especially with regard to unwanted contact, they are held accountable. rightly so.
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