Prominent advocate for child abuse survivors said sentence for former New York officer Shawn Jordan is ‘dangerous’

It “is the epitome of injustice” as well as “dangerous” for a judge to have given a sentence of 10 weekends in jail to a former upstate New York police officer who pleaded guilty to raping a 13-year-old girl before his forced resignation, according to a prominent advocate for child sexual abuse survivors.

“This sentence is the epitome of injustice and a dangerous nod to child sexual predators letting them know, ‘No worries, we won’t go too hard on you,’” Kathryn Robb, the national director of the Children’s Justice Campaign at the Enough Abuse organization, said on Thursday. “This little girl will be imprisoned by her memories for life, while [the rapist] loses a mere 20 days of his liberty.”

Robb, an attorney, has helped state legislatures across the US reform laws addressing child sexual abuse. She added that “rape of a child is one of the most horrendous crimes with lifelong effects on the victim”. And she maintained that the case centering on ex-Rochester, New York, police officer Shawn Jordan was unconscionable for anyone who believed in the ongoing need for stiffer criminal punishments and more substantial civil damages in instances of child molestation.

  • Todd Bonzalez@lemm.ee
    118·
    3 months ago

    Watch closely as the right wing, which is typically obsessed with child sex abuse, ignores this and continues backing universal immunity for all cops.

    • kamenoko
      30·
      3 months ago

      Rape is tolerated in cases of religion and family. Two cornerstones of conservative values. Conservatives need to stop letting weirdos safeguard their children.

      • Todd Bonzalez@lemm.ee
        18·
        3 months ago

        Rape is tolerated in cases of religion and family

        Which are also leading culprits of sex abuse. Like 95% of child sex abuse victims were molested by a family member or clergy.

      • A_Random_Idiot@lemmy.worldEnglish
        10·
        3 months ago

        Conservatives argued that 13 is old enough to be married and be on your second child with your 45 year old husband.

    • lolcatnip@reddthat.comEnglish
      28·
      3 months ago

      Conservatives don’t even conceptualize rape as involving consent. Consider this mini-rant by Rush Limbaugh:

      You know what the magic word, the only thing that matters in American sexual mores today is? One thing. You can do anything — the left will promote and understand and tolerate anything — as long as there is one element. Do you know what it is? Consent. If there is consent on both or all three or all four, however many are involved in the sex act, it’s perfectly fine. Whatever it is. But if the left ever senses and smells that there’s no consent in part of the equation, then here come the rape police. But consent is the magic key to the left.

      Frankly I didn’t know what they think rape actually is, but I’m this case I bet money they think the cop just owes the girl’s dad an apology for borrowing his property without permission, or for not marrying her, or something else equally disgusting.

      • barsquid@lemmy.world
        11·
        3 months ago

        That mini-rant is insane. It is completely insane that he would present that as something he disagrees with. And Repubs still respected him until the end, because they also disagree with it.

  • Incandemon@lemmy.ca
    921·
    3 months ago

    “This sentence is the epitome of injustice and a dangerous nod to child sexual predators letting them know, ‘No worries, we won’t go too hard on you,’”

    This seems like its missing a pretty obvious point. Its not that the judge is going easy on a child rapist. The judge is going easy on a cop, who just so happens to also be a fucking child rapist. This cop, and the judge both deserve to be in jail for the rest of their lives.

  • A_Random_Idiot@lemmy.worldEnglish
    52·
    3 months ago

    “Justice” like this is what leads to the creation of Vigilante Justice.

    because I know how sensitive the mods are, NO thats not a Call for Vigilantism, I’m saying injustice like this inevitably leads to vigilantism, and the best way to avoid vigilantism is to not give slaps on the wrists like this child fuckin rapists.

    • CosmicTurtle0@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
      32·
      3 months ago

      We’ve passed this point years ago.

      Brock Turner, rapist who got free due to “affluentenza” or whatever the fuck they called it.

      The husband and wife duo who held assault rifles outside their home.

      Kyle Rittenhouse

      Fucking Donald Trump

      • dogslayeggs@lemmy.world
        15·
        3 months ago

        Brock Turner was the CA college rapist who only served 3 months in prison because the judge decided it would hurt the “boy’s” future to have a harsher sentence. Brock Turner later changed his name to Allen Turner to avoid being associated with being a rapist.

        The affluenza case was from TX where a 16 year old kid was out driving drunk and killed 4 people and injured 9 others in an accident. The judge only gave him probation because he was so used to being rich that he didn’t know right from wrong.

    • SeaJ@lemm.ee
      6·
      3 months ago

      Considering I am reading this post after just reading about another where a serial child rapist was let go after a 15 year old had called 911 saying he had drugged her and threatened to kill her. They found her drugged and shirtless in the middle of the street where she had told them he was filming the abuse he was doing. Many of the victims appeared to be 12 but the prosecutor wanted to let him go until they could verify the age of the kids in the videos. One of the victims killed him after his release. Good job, prosecutor. They knew the age of the girl who called 911.

  • kevindqc@lemmy.world
    52·
    3 months ago

    Ritts says he understands why people are upset Jordan will spend fewer than a dozen weekends in jail calling it a “generous” sentencing.

    “I’m disappointed, truly, that Shawn Jordan did not get the sentence that he deserved,” Ritts said.

    But Ritts says both his prosecutor on the case, Kelly Wolford, and the judge, Kristina Karle, did what they could, adding the judge gave him the max under the plea agreement.

    Karle could have rejected the agreement, he says, but she knew Jordan would never accept another that included prison time.

    “Child sex offenders in prison and police officers in prison would compound those things and he knew exactly what he was facing if prison was in the works,” Ritts said.

    Then don’t give him any plea deal? Wtf

    Ritts says they were forced to negotiate because the case largely relied on the story of a child and that story did not come out until well after the crime.

    DA: hey child rapists, pro tip - threaten your victims so they don’t report your rape immediately!

    • A_Random_Idiot@lemmy.worldEnglish
      21·
      3 months ago

      DA: hey child rapists, pro tip - threaten your victims so they don’t report your rape immediately!

      That was pretty much my take, too.

      Disgusting.

    • craigers@lemmy.world
      5·
      3 months ago

      So even tho it’s bullshit sentence I took away 2 things: 1) getting a guilty plea deal outweighed the risk of no conviction in this case, which leads to 2) he has another pending trial for a different case, and now we have established a guilty pattern of behavior. So hopefully they throw the book at him for that one and send him to prison where he will meet a lot of nice people that like him a lot…

  • gedaliyah@lemmy.worldM
    23·
    3 months ago

    First I read that as “10 weeks” and was incensed. Then I re-read it and I think it broke me.

    We have a sickness in our justice system that seems to treat those who have been in service to society as less serious sexual offenders (ie, “but look at all the good they’ve done!”). The reality is that they are worse offenders, because in addition to the sexual assault, they are abusing their position.

      • gedaliyah@lemmy.worldM
        12·
        3 months ago

        I had worse punishments in high school for skipping class. He’s grounded for 10 weekends. It makes me feel literally sick.

        • Frozengyro@lemmy.world
          3·
          3 months ago

          Truly sickening. I think someone in a position of power like they were should receive a harsher sentence than the average person would have.

  • Tyrangle@lemmy.world
    7·
    3 months ago

    My understanding is that there was no hard evidence and the witness did not wish to testify, so this was a plea deal to make him confess and give the victim closure. Still feels wrong given that he did confess, but if the alternative was no probation I guess this is better than nothing.

  • kamenoko
    1·
    3 months ago

    I hope he visits the Russian 4th floor Window Museum some day. Be a real shame if an accident happened through.