Foster dad portrayed as a model, and a monster

[icymist]

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/166626_foster27.html

Saturday, March 27, 2004

Foster dad portrayed as a model, and a monster
Man hit with 30 counts of child rape

By HEATH FOSTER, JEFFREY M. BARKER, CLAUDIA ROWE AND VANESSA HO
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTERS

From a distance, Ronald Harold Young seemed to be the stuff that model foster fathers are made of.

After lovingly raising two stepsons in a marriage of more than 20 years, the church-going repairman and his wife, Wendy, opened their rural Key Peninsula home to abused and neglected children in the summer of 2002.

<snip>

But as Young was arraigned yesterday on 30 counts of first-degree child rape, what emerged was a portrait of a furtive child molester who methodically assembled a group of vulnerable, prepubescent boys under the state's eye.

Young was also charged with six counts of child molestation and eight counts of exploitation of a minor. After pleading not guilty on all counts, he was ordered held in lieu of $2 million bail.

Pierce County detectives tracked down Young, who is accused of posting hundreds of images of himself and the six foster boys, ages 5 to 7, engaged in a range of sexual acts.

(more)

The buzz in Seattle is that this is the worst case of this type, ever.

[shadu]

He is going to have no fun in prison

May he live long

[shadu]

1. He is going to have no fun in prison

May he live long

[boobooday]

2. Will it be a scandal for the child welfare system there?

These agencies are obviously way overtaxed and underfunded, which is how stuff like this happens. When these stories come out, they get blamed, but nothing is ever done to address the bigger problem.

http://www.wgoeshome.com

[Skidmore]

7. Florida has had nothing but scandal

with it's child welfare agencies. Doesn't look like scandal matters there. You never hear of an inquiry or anyone being punished.

[icymist]

8. This one's in Tacoma, Washington.

You would think that something like this would be in Florida, huh?

[Skidmore]

10. Whoops...shouldn't try to do two things at the same time

...my apologies for just glancing briefly at the article.

[icymist]

3. Here's the link to the same story coverd in The Seattle Times.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2001889375_sexcrimes27m.html

I love a two paper town!

[Name removed]

4. Deleted message

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[icymist]

5. I don't know why they highlight 'church-going'.

It's like they can't believe that someone who goes to church regularly could do such things. Probably just being naive.

Welcome to DU Big_Balled_Dem! :)

[revcarol]

6. Nothing like a real hypocrite to make headlines.

Jesus didn't say to molest small boys.

[Name removed]

9. Deleted message

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[murielm99]

12. It's that durned librul media!

There they go again!

[Name removed]

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[PurityOfEssence]

17. I guarantee you, if Atheism was a major point in their lives, it would be

The headline here doesn't mention anything about religion, and that's probably because he didn't make his faith the number one characteristic he paraded around to the world. Headlines aren't fair, but they do attempt to distill the essence by hitting the salient points.

It's a HUGE element to have people who profess moral beauty nestled in the bright shining goodness of the pristine god dude running willy-nilly violating innocent deprived minors.

For one thing, there seems to be a big religious element in the child murders we keep seeing, the child abuse cases and numerous other unseemly hobbies. It's probably statistically unfair, being that somewhere around 90% of Americans are believers, but I see NO cases of the wicked heathens doing it.

This is not bias, this is accurate reporting. Personally, I think they fluff the issue almost all the time, and when they bring up the religious issue, it's more of the "how could someone who's OBVIOUSLY moral have done such a thing." THAT'S media bias. For those of us who feel that religion is the pot-bellied stove in the wooden structure of the mind, it makes perfect sense why followers can't square reality with the supernatural.

If I did such a thing, it may or may not be in the headlines, since my Agnosticism is merely part of my life, but if Newdow did it, it would be in the headline. This is absolutely logical from a news standpoint: I'm merely a casual non-believing hobbyist, and that adjective would be well down on the list when describing me; Newdow's a professional non-believer, and that reference will be made as the first thing anyone hears about him.

Find me some non-believers who do such things. There's a bigotry among most who are brought up with religion that those who aren't are less moral; that's not only incorrect, it's nasty. I'm tweaking you somewhat here, but I'm not trying to equate you with heathen-haters. Chew through this for a second and see if it rings true.

[Skittles]

18. LOL

they are highlighting the EXTREME HYPOCRISY.

[justjones]

22. I think the point is that he recently became religious.....

His neice talks about how he recently became religious and started wearing a cross and preaching, meaning that it was recent change in his behavior. It is a fact that may or may not be relevant, but the story never implies anything either way so I don't see it as a problem.

[icymist]

23. Except that in the Northwest media they are constantly toting this

line. It's like they're saying, "Oh my God! religious people are doing this!" or "Oh my God, Christians are saying that!" Out here, the so called news media even conducts telephone-call-in polls about how people should act or think or if we should allow Gay people to have rights and so on and so forth. This is our so-called-liberal media in action. Out here, there is very little liberal media or I wouldn't be here, on the DU, getting the real story!

[Dogmudgeon]

15. It's a "Man Bites Dog" story

The Press delights in cheap irony -- as do most NeoCons, when they're not the target.

--bkl

[bunk76]

16. I think...

this may have something to do with the "high lighting" of his faith?
Youngs mother,who lives in Alabama,said her son was studying through an internet bible school to become a pastor and felt that god wanted him to be a foster parent.Trying to make this an issue of bashing religion is a stretch,it seems to me he is a predator and a child molester.To not "highlight" the fact he may have been using this in order to recruit victims,is also part of the whole picture.

[ezee]

11. And they worry

about gay marriage and gay family adopting. I have never heard of this kind of thing happening in same sex parent homes!

[Name removed]

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[Skittles]

19. oh really?

and you get your statistics where???

[bunk76]

20. From a "higher" power,...

perhaps Rush? :evilgrin:

[icymist]

21. Yeah.

Rush on drugs! Rush on drugs! Rush on drugs!

[Skittles]

24. he's gone

thank you Moderators !!!

[icymist]

25. Um, Skittles,

I don't know what you mean...I don't get it.

Nevermind, I think I get it.