Koso sentenced

[djacq75]

Just the latest example of how our government ruins lives on the pretext of "protecting children":

Now wait begins for teen mother, wife

[xoxoxoBruce]

9 months isn't too bad. Mary Kay LeTourneau got 7 and 1/2 years.

[djacq75]

Mary Kay Letourneau originally got out in six months and got sent back for violating parole. Ordinarily, female offenders are given much more leniency than male offenders; as bad as this sentence is from the point of view of the family, I feared it would be much worse.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Actually she got out in 3 months the first time.

[glatt]

Interesting story. It is certainly very one sided and doesn't give much background information on the crime. What little it gives is quickly glossed over to dwell on the emotional side of things.

It sounds much worse when you present the following facts:

Adult male has history of sexual interests in minors.
Victim's mother gets protective order to keep him away from the 14 year old girl.
He violates the protective order and also commits statutory rape.
He got caught.
He's going to jail for less than a year.

Oh yeah, they got married at some point.

What the hell is up with Nebraska that they let 15 year olds get married? Or was she 14 then? Article doesn't say.

I wonder if they can make a condition of his parole be that he has to stay away from his victim.

[djacq75]

Well, to take things in approximate order:

Koso was never charged or convicted of doing anything improper with any other minors, although the attorney general improperly spread rumors of same.

The girl's (I refuse to call her a victim) mother did get a protective order; obviously, to her, the pregnancy changed things, as it has changed things for millions of other couples throughout history.

He was, we can agree, legally and technically guilty of statutory rape. Nevertheless, justice is not served by prosecuting someone just because you can. There is a thing called judicial discretion.

Koso could serve up to 30 months, and in effect, the 9-30 months he serves is also a sentence for his wife and child to serve.

They got married at some point--hardly an irrelevant consideration.

Crystal was 13 when they got married. Some states permit this, some do not. The historical purpose of marriage is to provide stability for children, and 13-year-olds are, as we can see, capable of bearing children. Since the fact that we're squeamish about even admitting that a 13 year old might have a sex drive doesn't alter biological facts, it's better for the law to take this into account.

As for the conditions of parole, by the time he gets out of prison, the so-called victim will be nearly old enough to legally consent to sex anyway.

[glatt]

Originally Posted by djacq75

Crystal was 13 when they got married.

None of this was in the article, but oh my god, this is just amazing.

In Nebraska you can get married at 13?!!!

I'd be interested to hear the story from the beginning, since the article is so devoid of facts.

Does it go like this?

They got married when she was 13.
Her mom got a restraining order to keep the husband away from the 13 year old bride.
He broke the restraining order when his wife was 14.
Now he's going to jail for statutory rape.

Is that right?

Sound like Nebraska is the villan here and both are victims of inconsistent and messed-up laws.

Did he know he couldn't legally sleep with his wife for several years when he married her?

Who lets their 13 year old get married?

13?!!!

[djacq75]

No, it went like this; I will edit as I get more information for the timeline.

Crystal was 12 and Matthew 19.

Crystal's mom is concerned about them spending too much time together.

Dec. 2003: Crystal turns 13. At some point in this area, the two begin a sexual relationship. (Matthew, incidentally, was not Crystal's first time.)

Sep. 2004: Crystal's mother gets a restraining order.

Dec. 2004: Crystal turns 14.

Dec. 2004: Crystal discovers she's pregnant.

May 2005: The parents agree to get the kids married, which cannot be performed in Nebraska; they marry in Kansas.

May-Jul 2005: Some people in town bring the case to the attention of the Richardson County DA, Jeffrey Goltz, who passes on the case.

Jul 2005: The state attorney general overrules Goltz, files charges.

Aug 2005: Samara Koso born.

Dec 2005: Matthew acccepts plea bargain.

Feb 7 2006: Matthew sentenced to 18-30 months.


Now, I don't think 14 year olds getting married is the optimal situation. But in this case it was the least bad option, and these people's attempt to make something of their lives has been wrecked by a grandstanding demagogue. It's an absolutely contemptible abuse of power, and brings to mind a definition I once read:

politics (n.) from poly-, meaning "many", and ticks, meaning "bloodsuckers."

[wolf]

Crystal's mom is probably not the sharpest pencil in the box, given that she named her child "Crystal." Crystal was well on her way to being screwed up before she left the womb. Any data on how old Crystal's mom was when she gave birth? Had her first sexual experience? Her daughter likely doesn't have her beat by much.

(Crystal is at the top of my list of names most likely to result in a severe personality disorder. Numbers two and three are Tiffany and Brittany. Any bizarre spelling of a common name comes next, including names like "Alyce" and "Jenniphr.")


Edit to add ... doesn't this just say it all (from the closing paragraphs of the article)

Crystal and her friend are going shopping this afternoon. Her friend has 52 bucks from her tax return and wants to spend it all on Crystal to cheer her up.

They’ll buy some good cigarettes, the friend says. They’ll go shopping somewhere and buy some baby clothes. Something cute.

[glatt]

Thanks for the info, djacq75. That's just amazing. I'm not surprised as much that Kansas lets 13 year olds get married. It isn't exactly a forward thinking state.

Still, there is much about this story that is disturbing. The DA prosecuting the guy is the least disturbing part of the whole affair. This guy knew he was breaking the law. He knew the girl was "jailbait." He did it anyway. He's lucky to be only spending 9 months in jail.

[richlevy]

I posted this before, for another discussion thread. It is a summary of State Marriage Statutes.

If you look at Arkansas, the "e" is footnoted as "(e) Younger parties may obtain license in case of pregnancy or birth of child."

Kansas and Massachusetts have a minimum age of 12, the lowest explicit age (pregancy and other factors are not age specific) of all of the states.

Nebraska has 17 with parental consent and is one of the few states on the chart with no footnotes denoting an exception or allowable extenuating circumstance.

Also, the Mann Act, a federal law, might apply in this case. It has been applied to married couples, most notbley Jack Johnson's interracial marriage. It was also used as a tool to prosecute polygamy, whether recognized by a state or not.

[djacq75]

It's disturbing that the state Attorney General thought about all the votes he could get by getting this in the paper, rather than about what was actually good for the family. It didn't quite turn out as he was expecting, with the vast majority of letters, faxes and e-mails that came into his office supporting the family.