Things That Make Me Punch My Monitor...

Something tells me this guy is in for a few bad days.

Hopefully, about 40 years' worth.





I found this newstory today. I'd gone looking for it as [Kid 2] mentioned it to me yesterday evening. Prior to that, I'd heard nothing of it.

A few other tidbits I found elsewhere (that aren't included in that link) are that Atchison is a registered republican appointed as a Federal Prosecutor by George Bush in 2002, and has been a member of the Florida Bar Association since 1984. His wife is a science teacher at Gulf Breeze High School (in Gulf Breeze, FL), and he is president of the Gulf Breeze Sports Association, a youth athletics organization.

I'd love to spend this post focusing on how profoundly hypocritical republicans are and how deeply, deeply depraved and disturbed, as well.

But I can't.

I can't get beyond the part where a 53 yr. old married man, who is very familiar with the legal ramifications of such behavior, was brokering to have sex with a five year old girl. And the part where he purported that he was very experienced at it.

How many families have been damaged, or destroyed, by this man.

You think his own wife is at school this week? I hope, for their sakes, that his parents are no longer living. I have no idea if he has children, but what a horror for them if he does.

He's asked for a court-appointed attorney. I imagine he has money. I have to assume it's because he can't get anyone to represent him otherwise. As a federal prosecutor living in Florida for more than twenty years, wouldn't you think he'd know some attorneys?

I saw a few blog comments of folks offering their rusty knife, salt and a few months of time to take care of the fella. And another who felt the judge should order a prominently placed tattoo identifying Atchison to his fellow inmates as a serial child molester. Now, neither of those options, to the best of my knowledge, have legal precedence, but I cannot, for an instant, say that I have a problem with them being applied here. I struggle a little with the part where he didn't actually see (or touch) the five year old victim...I do...but I'm willing to work around that since I believe he actually would have. Plus, there's the part where he claims to have done it in the past. (I didn't say it was easy for me to skirt my issues with an actual injured party. I simply said I was WILLING to try.)

Raising a gaggle of girls, these stories are precisely the stuff of my nightmares. Not that I would be taking my girls to offer them to some predator, but that they would be hurt...and that I would be unable to stop it from happening. And it scares the poo right outta me. I mean it.

Even as I type it, I realize how ridiculous it is to say that it always surprises me how many of these pedophiles work around children. Because, OF COURSE, that's what they'd do. How can you trust your children to anyone's care? It seems such a crap shoot.

I keep thinking that if I can just get my girls raised, without them being in this situation, I will declare victory and retire from the field. But that's not quite right, is it? I mean, it's possible there will be grandchildren behind them. And even if I'm not worrying about grandchildren, I'll be worrying about the children of friends and family. Or, damn me, even stranger children.

It makes me long for some magic elixir that will make this stuff just stop.

Sexual variety is a good thing. I really truly believe that. And I don't think having the courts dictate sexuality is what we want. But, certainly, we can maintain that without dragging kids into it...can't we?

Can't we?