Attacker shows stress disorder, court told

[BigToque]

http://winnipegsun.com/News/Winnipeg/2006/06/08/1620565-sun.html

A former soldier in the Canadian Armed Forces who claims he has no memory of breaking into a home and sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl shows all the signs of post-traumatic stress disorder, two doctors told a court yesterday.

Roger Borsch, 34, said the horrors he witnessed as a peacekeeper in Bosnia in 1994 have haunted him since he returned to Canada.

"I think what happened that night is he started to behave like the scenarios he saw in Bosnia," said Dr. Fred Shane, a psychiatrist who examined Borsch following his arrest in 2004.

On Tuesday, Borsch told court he shot and killed a Serbian soldier after catching him raping a young girl.

'All of a sudden the dam breaks'


"(Borsch) became the rapist," Shane said. "He became extremely disinhibited."

Shane said the attack wasn't necessarily triggered by any particular event.

"He was suffering ongoing pressure and stress, all of a sudden the dam breaks and you get a lot of white noise," Shane said.

"He's living not only with the memories (of Bosnia) but with the guilt that he killed somebody. That's a hemorrhage."

Dr. Joseph Polimeni, an expert in post-traumatic stress disorder who has treated more than 100 soldiers, said Borsch was likely in a "dissociative state" fuelled by alcohol when he attacked the girl.

In a dissociative state, a person has no memory or awareness of what he is doing.

When in such a state, a person is not normally responsible for their actions, Polimeni said.

Borsch was a prison guard in The Pas when he broke into the home of a fellow guard and sexually assaulted her 13-year-old daughter at knifepoint in her bedroom. Borsch taped the girl's mouth shut and threatened to kill her if she screamed.

The girl wrestled the knife away from Borsch and ran downstairs to her sleeping mother.

Borsch has pleaded not guilty by reason of mental disorder to sex assault with a weapon, break and enter, and forcible confinement.

 

[moshquerade]

that's a cop out for raping a child.

 

[Greyd]

:roll:

 

[Joemonkey]

just because someone doesn't remember doing something doesn't mean they shouldn't be punished for it

hell i've been blacked out drunk and if i ever committed a crime while in that state, even if i couldn't remember it, i'd want to be punished for it

 

[MisterJackson]

Sheesh. I believe seeing bad things happen can cause one to eventually snap one day if left untreated (read therapy), but this is stretching it. I could see if he were comatose MAYBE, but taping her mouth and using a knife.....he sounds pretty alert to me.

 

[RbSX]

Originally posted by: MisterJackson
Sheesh

Bosnia for us Canadians is like your Vietnam.

The people that have come back from there have ended up in mental institutions, alot of them are on prescription drugs for going slightly crazy over there.

Though I could never excuse what he's done, seeing stuff like he did sure does mess you up.

 

[BigToque]

Originally posted by: Joemonkey
just because someone doesn't remember doing something doesn't mean they shouldn't be punished for it

hell i've been blacked out drunk and if i ever committed a crime while in that state, even if i couldn't remember it, i'd want to be punished for it

It's not that he just doesn't remember doing it. What they're saying is that he essentially became what he saw. "He" didn't commit the crime. Imagine something like split-personality disorder. It's a very real problem.

That said, I don't know the situation. For all I know he's lying. But, there are two doctors saying under oath that he could have had no idea or control over the situation, so that's a plus on his side.

 

[Joemonkey]

Originally posted by: BigToque

Originally posted by: Joemonkey
just because someone doesn't remember doing something doesn't mean they shouldn't be punished for it

hell i've been blacked out drunk and if i ever committed a crime while in that state, even if i couldn't remember it, i'd want to be punished for it

It's not that he just doesn't remember doing it. What they're saying is that he essentially became what he saw. "He" didn't commit the crime. Imagine something like split-personality disorder. It's a very real problem.

That said, I don't know the situation. For all I know he's lying. But, there are two doctors saying under oath that he could have had no idea or control over the situation, so that's a plus on his side.

Right, but my point was he shouldn't get out of being punished simply for that fact

 

[BigToque]

Originally posted by: Joemonkey

Originally posted by: BigToque

Originally posted by: Joemonkey
just because someone doesn't remember doing something doesn't mean they shouldn't be punished for it

hell i've been blacked out drunk and if i ever committed a crime while in that state, even if i couldn't remember it, i'd want to be punished for it

It's not that he just doesn't remember doing it. What they're saying is that he essentially became what he saw. "He" didn't commit the crime. Imagine something like split-personality disorder. It's a very real problem.

That said, I don't know the situation. For all I know he's lying. But, there are two doctors saying under oath that he could have had no idea or control over the situation, so that's a plus on his side.

Right, but my point was he shouldn't get out of being punished simply for that fact

Why not? In order to be guilty of a crime, there needs to be intent.

If he became the rapist he saw before, he was no longer acting as himself. "He" never intended to do anything and "He" would have had no control over the situation.

 

[Joemonkey]

Originally posted by: BigToque

Originally posted by: Joemonkey

Originally posted by: BigToque

Originally posted by: Joemonkey
just because someone doesn't remember doing something doesn't mean they shouldn't be punished for it

hell i've been blacked out drunk and if i ever committed a crime while in that state, even if i couldn't remember it, i'd want to be punished for it

It's not that he just doesn't remember doing it. What they're saying is that he essentially became what he saw. "He" didn't commit the crime. Imagine something like split-personality disorder. It's a very real problem.

That said, I don't know the situation. For all I know he's lying. But, there are two doctors saying under oath that he could have had no idea or control over the situation, so that's a plus on his side.

Right, but my point was he shouldn't get out of being punished simply for that fact

Why not? In order to be guilty of a crime, there needs to be intent.

If he became the rapist he saw before, he was no longer acting as himself. "He" never intended to do anything and "He" would have had no control over the situation.

there does not need to be intent. Vehicular Manslaughter is a good example

 

[moshquerade]

Originally posted by: BigToque

Originally posted by: Joemonkey

Originally posted by: BigToque

Originally posted by: Joemonkey
just because someone doesn't remember doing something doesn't mean they shouldn't be punished for it

hell i've been blacked out drunk and if i ever committed a crime while in that state, even if i couldn't remember it, i'd want to be punished for it

It's not that he just doesn't remember doing it. What they're saying is that he essentially became what he saw. "He" didn't commit the crime. Imagine something like split-personality disorder. It's a very real problem.

That said, I don't know the situation. For all I know he's lying. But, there are two doctors saying under oath that he could have had no idea or control over the situation, so that's a plus on his side.

Right, but my point was he shouldn't get out of being punished simply for that fact

Why not? In order to be guilty of a crime, there needs to be intent.

If he became the rapist he saw before, he was no longer acting as himself. "He" never intended to do anything and "He" would have had no control over the situation.

you've got to be kidding me. so a guy comes back from active duty and goes on a shooting rampage killing a dozen people. we should just excuse the guy, pat him on the head, and send him back home?

there is NO WAY this guy didn't know he was raping a child. he is a rapist. i am not saying he doesn't have a mental illness, but he didn't stick his c*ck into this poor struggling unwilling little victim and not know what he was doing at all.

that's like the guy who said he was sleepwalking and didn't realize he had sex with a woman. he raped her also.