I wanted to post another case that clearly shows some thinking errors going on by the offender:
You can read the complete article here:
Indianola, Ia. - Shannon Michelle Rew faces up to 10 years behind bars and a lifetime as a registered sex offender, but the 37-year-old Indianola mother of three is unapologetic about her sexual relationship with a teenage boy.
"We both cared about each other. That's what the basis of our relationship was," she said. "Our sense of humor and our personalities were a perfect match."
Rew, who pleaded guilty Monday to two counts of third-degree sex abuse, said she and the boy "cared a lot about each other" and "kind of let emotions just take over," which prosecutors say led to an ongoing relationship that included pornography, explicit text messages and a sexual encounter in her van while she was free on bond.
"The fact that you went ahead and committed a subsequent offense of the same nature does not give the court a lot of confidence that you've learned anything in this matter," said Warren County District Judge Darrell Goodhue, who recommended that Rew be put on probation for life as part of her sentence.
She was free on bond in this case and ignored the Courts rules and went ahead and abused him again anyway. That right there speaks volumes.
Rew said she and the boy met after her 16-year-old daughter dated him for about six months.
"He was a really nice kid, a really nice person," Rew said. "He would do anything for you. He was having a lot of personal problems and family problems to where he came to me a lot, you know?"
Warren County Attorney Bryan Tingle said Rew's alleged concern for the boy's welfare was questionable.
People who are charged with crimes try "to make excuses to justify their crimes and take the focus away from what they did wrong under our laws by focusing attention on the victims," he said. "She took advantage of an emotionally unstable individual. That's what a criminal does. He or she takes advantage of someone who is vulnerable or in a fragile state."
It is nice to see a prosecutor who understands.
Rew said she never meant to hurt the boy or his family.
She said that if she had caused them pain, she regretted doing so, but that she wasn't sorry about the relationship.
"We had a really good time together, and I don't regret that. I just regret that because of what happened, everything that came out of it - I would never have done it if I knew that would be the case," she said.
"It's crazy. They can be 16, and you don't get charged with anything. They can be 15, and you get charged with life parole. Who's to say this 15-year-old isn't as mature as an 18-year-old?
"I don't think, when you care about somebody, that age really matters."
And there is the no-apology apology along with her thinking errors. She is also basically saying she is sorry she got caught and would not have done it if she thought you would get caught.
There was/is an interesting sidebar note with the story that said:
There are some statistics on convictions, but the women often plead to lesser charges, "or they're not apprehended in the first place," said Robert Shoop, a Kansas State University leadership and ethics professor who has served as a forensic expert in more than 50 sex abuse cases.
Such cases often stem from mentoring relationships: A flirtatious relationship develops, and then the woman and the boy spend more time together. Later, they end up alone, and then the relationship becomes sexual, Shoop said.
"It's a very predictable pattern," he said. "In many cases, the relationship gives them a tremendous amount of ego gratification.
"Shoop said it's common for the woman to say she's in love with the boy. "These people basically, in my experience, generally have a very poor concept of ethics and boundaries," he said. "We can definitely say that the reportage of females molesting males is increasing dramatically."
Monday, January 5, 2009
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