Pedophilia, probation, and retention?

On Saturday, the Topeka Capital-Journal headlined a story that struck me in a very weak spot. It outlined the story of a 38-year-old man, convicted of seventeen (17) counts of rape & sodomy on a 14-year-old girl. It also tells us that Shawnee County District Court Judge Matthew Dowd awarded this beast a sentence of 36-months probation.
One of the most precious assets that we, as a people, enjoy are our children. Innocent (or so we believe), loving, trusting, and yet…. Do we value them? Is not our system of justice a reflection of our own values? Or is our justice system a harbinger of our future values?In this particular case, our legal system seemed to work. Multiple crimes were committed, the police and the District Attorney investigated, developed evidence, and got the case before the court and a jury of twelve men and women. After hearing both sides of the case, the jury then ruled that this animal was indeed guilty of 17 counts of committing rape or sodomy on this young girl.Then, the system failed. The judge awarded a sentence of 36 months of probation. This comes out to about two months of probation for every time he penetrated this girl.Everything worked. And yet, the 155 months (13 years) of prison that should have been awarded according to the state’s sentencing guidelines was thrown out, and an animal walks the street today due to Judge Matthew Dowd.For the first time in my life, I am ashamed to call myself a Kansan. You can explain away Fred Phelps as a first amendment case. You can excuse George Tiller as the abortion lobby’s poster child. But having a convicted rapist of children walking the streets a free man is something that we, the people, are responsible for.Why are we responsible?Because it is we who have taught our children that there is no right and wrong. It is we, the people who have buried our heads in the sand and said, “There is no evil here.” It is we who have allowed crime to be forgiven because of supposed “excuses”.Judge Matthew Dowd set a predator loose on our streets because he was “depressed”. Judge Matthew Dowd believes that this creature can be rehabilitated because he has steady work and good family support.Will we, as a people, accept this abdication of his duty to provide justice? Think well the next time Judge Matthew Dowd appears on the retention ballot. Maybe we can show our values as a people.But I’m hoping that this Judge will see that he has crossed a line that should not ever be crossed. He has placed our children at risk. Hopefully, Judge Matthew Dowd will resign, and resign soon. There is never an excuse for a 38-year-old to be with a 14-year old.Whether liberal or conservative, I believe this is something we can all agree on.

You can email Alan at alan@alanfernald.com twenty-four hours a day.