Thursday, December 13, 2007
And I said I wanted to do more courts why!??
Just the other day I was telling someone that if Ruth Ann ever wanted to give up her court beat, I’d love to take it over because even though court can be deadly dull, the cases are generally pretty meaty. And then I read this story today:
By Ruth Ann Krause
Post-Tribune correspondent
Lake Superior Court Judge Diane Ross Boswell rejected a request on behalf of Joseph C. Buchko, a former Merrillville school teacher convicted of sexual battery who wanted to avoid having to register as a sex offender.
Buchko, 38, of Griffith, who admitted he improperly touched an 11-year-old girl on school property on a Saturday between September and October 2004, said having to register would hurt his chances at landing a job with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, defense attorney Sam Cappas said. Cappas argued the law shouldn’t apply to Buchko.
Deputy prosecutor Judy Massa said Buchko already had received a favorable plea agreement and sentence. Originally charged with child molesting, which carries a maximum eight-year sentence, Buchko pleaded guilty in 2005 to sexual battery and received 18 months’ probation. His probation was extended to allow him to comply with the requirements, and his felony conviction was reduced to a misdemeanor.
and my head explodes.
Couple things here: a) How is it that the sex offender registry “shouldn’t apply to him”!?? He molested a child and likely screwed her up for years to come; and b) what idiot or group of idiots decided that eight years was an appropriate maximum sentence for child molestation? That’s not MANDATORY, mind you, but MAXIMUM, which means they can get out well before. I don’t get it.
