11 years in jail for raping a fictional character

[Mark R]

In an extraordinary legal case, a Kansas man has been jailed for 11 years for the attempted rape of a person who existed only in the imagination of a person trying to entrap him.

Unfortunately there is a darker element to the story: the fictional character was a 10 year old girl, and the man was found in possession of 'child pornography'.

There can be no denying that a crime occurred, but to call it attempted rape strikes me as slightly strange when there could have been no victim.

Story can be found here: http://www.ljworld.com/section/stateregional/story/114062

 

[KGB1]

Man I better delete my files before the FBI ransacks my home Shiiiiet. That's messed up, I hope there is no one is building a conspiracy on me. I really wouldnt want to be Jose's biatch in prison.

 

[gopunk]

he had the intent

 

[Orsorum]

What is the definition of entrapment?

 

[Pastore]

Originally posted by: Zakath15
What is the definition of entrapment?

Exactly. The cops were probably the ones getting their jollies off behind the computer screen. Makes me sick the way law enforcement works situations like that. :disgust:

 

[BoberFett]

Originally posted by: gopunk
he had the intent

I'm sure that at some point you've dreamed about doing something illegal. Somebody slap the cuffs on gopunk, the lowlife worm.

 

[Danman]

Originally posted by: gopunk
he had the intent

I have the intent to do a lot of things, does that make me a criminal? Did you he rape anyone, NO. Should he be charged with what he dreamt of? I'll leave that up to you.

 

[Ynog]

Just the thought police at work

 

[Nemesis77]

I'm having mixed feelings about this. The man is obviously a monster that should be put away for good. But on the other hand... He did not commit any crime. THis is a case where a man was arrested because he was thinking about something is illegal. Thought-police anyone?

But, there are two sides to this.

 

[rawoutput]

In soviet Russia, fictional characters rape you!

 

[Ameesh]

just another side effect of having conservatives on the bench and in office.

 

[conjur]

<cleansing mind of impure thoughts>

 

[apoppin]

From that link:
{\

Retired Judge Michael Barbara, who has written many of the state?s legal textbooks, agreed Wednesday that ?mere thoughts? do not constitute a crime.

?Intent is a state of mind,? Barbara said. ?It?s actually one of those definitions where you use the word to describe the word. It?s the willful thought of doing something.?

However, criminal intent requires an act furthering such a thought, Barbara said.

?Basically, you cannot be charged with the thought of doing something,? he said. ?There has to be some overt act, like getting plans for the bank if you?re thinking about a robbery, or getting a gun.

?But you can walk along and think, ?It would be nice to rob that bank.? You can?t be arrested for that thought. State of mind alone cannot support a conviction for anything.?

The MORAL of THIS story is: Public Defenders generally suck and poorer people get less than "equal" treatment of the law.

 

[hdeck]

Originally posted by: KGB
Man I better delete my files before the FBI ransacks my home Shiiiiet. That's messed up, I hope there is no one is building a conspiracy on me. I really wouldnt want to be Jose's biatch in prison.

the FBI would still be able to find those files if you simply deleted them...we are all screwed...

 

[Aves]

Anyone remember this?

Link 1

Link 2

 

[Swag1138]

Big Brother is watching.

 

[erikistired]

imho, superman is a fictional character. a 10 yr old girl isn't. they do actually exist and people do actually rape molest kidnap them. not that this has any bearing on the case, just thought i'd throw that in.

~erik

btw, if you have child porn you should be tossed into prison anyway. by owning it you are encouraging people to make and sell it to you. perhaps they should consider convicting him on that instead of what he might have done to someone.

 

[gopunk]

Originally posted by: BoberFett

Originally posted by: gopunk
he had the intent

I'm sure that at some point you've dreamed about doing something illegal. Somebody slap the cuffs on gopunk, the lowlife worm.

yea but i didn't go so far as to prepare to do it, show up at the place, etc

 

[gopunk]

look folks, if some guy buys a bunch of flashbangs, body armor, semiautos, ammo, and proceeds to approach a bank, is it okay to arrest him for having the intent to rob a bank? i think so.

this is NOT simply a THOUGHT. he WENT to the place where he believed the child lived with several items that he had purchased for the occasion.

 

[UNCjigga]

Oh dear...does this mean that I've *raped* Britney Spears, Ali Landry, Natalie Portman, Carmen Elektra, Pamela Anderson, Christina Aguilera, Brooke Burke, Jessica Alba, Eliza Dushku, and the local weather girl??? I have pics of all of them on my PC, and I have *definately* had the intent to fornicate with one or more of these babes (often at the same time!)

LOCK ME UP FOR LIFE!!!

 

[MacBaine]

So if the 10 yr old existed, none of you would have a problem with this? Seems to me that the fact that she was made up wouldn't change what this guy wanted to do at all. Intent and thought are two different things. You need to understand that this guy showed up at what he thought was this girl's house, with several items to use in comitting the crime. That isn't the same as sitting in your house and thinking "I want to rape a 10 year old".

 

[gopunk]

Originally posted by: uncJIGGA
Oh dear...does this mean that I've *raped* Britney Spears, Ali Landry, Natalie Portman, Carmen Elektra, Pamela Anderson, Christina Aguilera, Brooke Burke, Jessica Alba, Eliza Dushku, and the local weather girl??? I have pics of all of them on my PC, and I have *definately* had the intent to fornicate with one or more of these babes (often at the same time!)

LOCK ME UP FOR LIFE!!!

i dunno, did you go to their houses with a bunch of duct tape and ether?

BTW, he did not get prosecuted for RAPE. he got prosecuted for attempted rape. man the amount of misinformation in this thread is shocking.

 

[vi edit]

This is messy, and I think it's even more of a mess because it involves the words "child" and "rape" in the headlines.

It's tough to make a rational call on an emotional topic.

In non-rape/molestation cases such as murder/bombings/terrroism, you CAN BE arrested and charged for intent. If I have the full schematics of the local high school on a table in my basement, with little X's marking the spot where I'm going to place the bombs, and pile of explosives sitting in the corner, and somebody calls me in, you bet your ass I'm going to be in jail. I never did anything, but there sure was intent.

I think this particular case is very, very close to entrapement, and just ugly overall.

 

[erikistired]

Originally posted by: Zakath15
What is the definition of entrapment?

i have a hard time sympathizing with a guy who showed up somewhere expecting to have sex with a 10 yr old girl, armed with sex toys and child porn. perhaps you'd be happier if we'd used your daughter as bait, and just as he was about to commit the act we then stopped him, even tho she'd probably be scarred for life. it's hard to take predators like this off the streets without endangering a child.

and if any of you screaming "thought police" or "i gotta delete my files" are having dreams about having sex with 10 yr olds or have child porn on your computers hopefully you'll get busted as well, and i won't symphathize with you either.

 

[Gaard]

Originally posted by: uncJIGGA
Oh dear...does this mean that I've *raped* Britney Spears, Ali Landry, Natalie Portman, Carmen Elektra, Pamela Anderson, Christina Aguilera, Brooke Burke, Jessica Alba, Eliza Dushku, and the local weather girl??? I have pics of all of them on my PC, and I have *definately* had the intent to fornicate with one or more of these babes (often at the same time!)

LOCK ME UP FOR LIFE!!!

Somebody needs a girlfriend.