30 days for assulting over a dozen kids

[dsc]

http://www.azdailysun.com/articles/2006/05/13/news/state/20060513_arizona_news_38.txt

A judge on Friday sentenced the son of Arizona Senate President Ken Bennett to 30 days in jail and his fellow counselor to 45 days for a series of hazings at a youth camp near Prescott last June.

Clifton Bennett, 18, and fellow counselor Kyle Wheeler, 19, admitted to abusing 18 boys ages 11 to 14 -- who had been hand-picked for a weeklong leadership camp -- by poking them in the rear end with broomsticks, a flashlight and a cane as a punishment or just because they were in a bad mood.
The boys wore underwear or swim trucks at the time of the "broomings," records show.

Records also show Wheeler choked many of the boys until they passed out as a game.

The Yavapai County Attorney's Office had asked that Bennett be sentenced to 90 days in jail and Wheeler to 180. The office also had asked for 500 hours of community service and probation for both.

snip

One of the victims, 13-year-old Zack Motcheck, said the two counselors should have gotten at least one year in jail.

"What they did was wrong," he said. "Maybe it was a game for them, but it wasn't for us. We were all afraid."

end of quotes

Let me be blunt here. This was cruel and sexually humiliating to those who had it done to them. Zack had a ton of guts to come forward by name and was greviously let down by the adults in Arizona. He deserved better as did the rest of those poor boys. Somehow I doubt I could go to Arizona, stick broomsticks up young girls slightly clothed vaginas, and have the courts dismiss it as non sexual hazing since I am gay. Bennett and Wheeler tortured and humiliated those boys repeatedly to keep them in line. I bet that somehow the most 'gay acting' of the boys was singled out for the most brutal and the most of these broomings. I also bet that the word fag was used quite abit. Boys, even young adult boys, often are cruel and homophobic and use torture to dominate other boys. That is why we have adults. They are supposed to punish boys who do that. Zack did his part. He came forward. He swallowed his fear and his shame and he told adults. Many who have this type of thing happen don't. Shame on Arizona for letting this kid down.

Where, oh where, is Bill O'Reilley when he is really needed?

[charlie]

1. I guess the judge

was moved by Bennett's lament about missing his LDS church mission this fall. If the church lets the little thug go, they belong on the roster of shame as well.

Time for civil suits, teach his senator daddy there's at least some consequence to string-pulling to protect his hellion spawn.

[dsc]

2. actually the prosecution

was the major problem. They only asked for 90 days and the prosector had stated publicly that this wasn't a sexual assult since the perps weren't gay.

[charlie]

3. Right

I'm aware of that. But her reticence bled over into near advocacy for the defendants, which stinks of something hidden and rotten:

"Quite frankly, it is slap in the face to child molestation and sexual assault victims everywhere to put this conduct in the same category."

http://72.14.207.104/search?q=cache:zKG-Fk5MlW4J:www.co.yavapai.az.us/departments/Aty/ConcernedCitizenBennett.htm

Apart from the brooming, Bennett's buddy choked kids until they passed out. That sort of reckless endangerment alone should merit several months jail time for the jerk and his accomplice.

[dsc]

4. Funny how that statement is all about the acts

yet she has been quoted repeatedly as stating that if the vics were girls or the perps were gay then it would be sexual assult. Either these acts are or aren't assult. She can't have it both ways. Incidently I had this done to me at a band camp and while she is right that it isn't molestation she is dead wrong that the one isn't humiliated by having it done to them. Am I glad no real penetration happended surely? But to be publicly humiliated that way is brutal and frankly I got called fag alot both during and after. Funny for a supposedly non sexual activity. I would be willing to bet that those boys were called fag and asked if they liked it and stuff like that while it was going on.

[theHandpuppet]

10. Then the prosecutors are ignorant

The vast majority of male-on-male sexual assaults on children are NOT committed by those who identify as homosexual. Sexual assault is about power and abuse. Here's a link to but one of many studies on this subject: http://psychology.ucdavis.edu/rainbow/html/facts_molestation.html

[dsc]

12. Given the connections of the perp

my guess is willful ignorance.

[johnaries]

14. So, they would have gotten a longer sentence if they were gay?

:wtf:

edit to add: I wonder how they "proved" they weren't gay.

[dsc]

15. according to the prosecutor they would have

and I have no idea how they proved it.

[rpannier]

5. Ummm...he's a pukie kid

Laws don't apply to connected pukies.
Since many pukies defended Abu Gharaib as hazing, why wouldn't they say the same about this?
It's sick. But they really don't care.

[nicknameless]

6. How effing outrageous.

Those poor boys are going to carry that trauma with them their whole lives.
And their vicious, sicko assailants get 45 and 30 measly days.

:grr:

[dsc]

7. Yep

1 and 2/3 days or 40 hours per victim, not per act but per victim. I wonder how much teasing poor Zack takes in school now. I pretty much know the names that people get called. For shame.

[nicknameless]

8. How are people in AZ standing for this? Heads should be rolling!

Are civil suits in the works?

[dsc]

9. I hope so

I also hope both the prosecutor and the judge are tossed out of office along with the Senator.

[nicknameless]

11. Absolutely.

I'd also like to see disbarment -- plus multiple year sentences for the attackers.

[dsc]

13. The attackers have been sentenced, double jeopardy applies

so that is out the door. As to the prosecutor I would accept a simple firing.

[nicknameless]

19. Looks like, technically, "double jeopardy" only applies to criminal cases

There is just a different term for it in civil matters (not sure of other differences).

The prohibition against double jeopardy applies only to criminal trials. The corresponding concept in civil litigation is res judicata: one can have only one trial for claims arising from one transaction or occurrence.

It also appears that defendants can't be incarcerated in civil cases.

In contrast, a defendant in civil litigation is never incarcerated and never executed. In general, a losing defendant in civil litigation only reimburses the plaintiff for losses caused by the defendant's behavior.

Too bad. This has been a massive and disgusting miscarriage of justice.

http://www.rbs2.com/cc.htm

[dsc]

20. Oh they can be sued

they just can't be retried and jailed for a longer period.

[bobbieinok]

16. so kid with connected father gets lighter 'sentence'?

[dsc]

17. actually that part can't really be faulted

the other kid choked people and the connected kid didn't. Both deserved far more than they got but Wheeler deserved more than Bennett.

[bobbieinok]

18. thanks......I didn't read carefully enough