Many of us know the justice system is failing many. We may all be equal under moral law, but not man's "law" and the legal system. Some people get special treatment. Cops are one group that often get away with murder, literally, as a protected group in society. If they do get convicted, they usually face reduced time compared to someone facing the same charges who isn't a cop.
A case on Ohio brings more awareness of the skewed legal system and the favoritism shown to police. As local news NBC4 reports on the case of a former cop having child porn.
Former Columbus Division of Police Sgt. Dean Worthington was given a 9 year sentence for possession and distribution of child pornography. But this was suspended to just 90 days in country jail, with a $5,000 fine added to make it feel more "just" I suppose. He's also going to be registered as a sex offended for 25 years, and have no access to the internet.
Worthington downloaded some child porn to his computer last year, as Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O'Brien described:
"Between January and July of 2018, it is alleged that Worthington uploaded an image to Tumblr and downloaded multiple videos and images depicting young children engaging in sexual activity with adults."
Tumblr tipped off local law enforcement after Worthington uploaded an image of child porn. Worthington served as a police officer for 20 years. Maybe this is why his sentence is reduced 90 in country jail alone.
The community is upset about the leniency applied for the child pornography. Ohio Crime Victim Justice Center executive director Cathy Harper Lee said:
"When offenders are only sentenced to 90 days in prison it sends a horrible message to crime victims it sends a disturbing message to offenders, it undermines the serious nature of the crime and it allows that industry to flourish."
Now, maybe she is right, and it encourages others to get away easy. But I still think the only reason he got off with little time was because he was a cop. Lee also added "It involves the sexual abuse of children. Offenders who download and exchange images of children they promote and escalate child sexual abuse."
"Registering as a sex offender falls within the guidelines of our laws and yes he should be held to that standard and he should have to register as a sex offender for 25-years. Does that mitigate the fact that he’s only serving 90-days in jail? Not it doesn’t. That’s still a very lenient sentence."
Exploitation of the young by propagating such horrible media online in social networks, should carry more consequences in a community, even if the legal system won't do anything about it. There are other cases of the legal system dropping the ball when it comes to fellow "boys in blue".
In 2017, CBS4Denver a former El Paso County Sheriff’s deputy took a plea deal that avoided prison time. Donald Fair, 45, was caught sharing child porn on a dark web message board. Along with the image he said "If this interests you, email me back... and we can talk."
Fair received 10 years probation and was put on the sex offender registry. Chief Deputy District Attorney Christopher Gallo felt letting him get off was good for the child who didn't have to testify:
"This defendant will stand convicted of sexually assaulting a child,” Gallo said. “If this case went to trial, I would have had to make a very young child testify. The damage that would have inflicted would have been severe to that child. Now that child won’t have to testify, and we’ve taken our best measure that this offender will be in a safe and supervised situation for this community, indefinitely."
Meanwhile, as police officers that are supposed to protect the community get easy passes for the harm they do, people are still going to jail for cannabis in the "great" America. Jabori Huntsberry of Lafayette, Louisiana, is going to spend the next 63 months in prison for accepting delivery of cannabis from California.
Freely engaging in the commerce of buying and selling a pant gets you 5 years in a cage, while people who violate the sanctity of children and exploit the innocent, get away with 3 months of jail and then walk free. The state of American justice is still a sham, and needs correction.
The legal punishment for trafficking of child pornography and promotion of child sexual abuse is only recent compared to others laws. It doesn't help that there are many pedophiles in positions of power and influence in society (politics, Hollywood), which helps explain why we are slow to progress against this darkness.
Thank you for your time and attention. Peace.
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