I have been contemplating whether to post this or not, but due to the lack of communications around home I can’t seem to get an honest opinion. It could be because the people I’ve talked to don’t want to hurt my feelings – I don’t know. But what I do know is that I will get an opinion from the men and women of FTE – pro or con – so here it is:
My cousin, 19 yrs old, slightly rebellious, but not extremely and he is what I considered to be normal, went on an outing with his friends and finally wound up at a package store. His friends, who were all 21 or over, went in to buy beer while he stayed in the truck. While there he saw a young girl leave the store with a sack in her arms. When she passed she looked over at him, then gave him a second look – what he called a “come-on” look. She got into a fairly new car, cranked it up and began to back out. But instead of pulling away she backed her car in to face him. They talked, one thing led to another until she finally talked him into going with her to “her place” for a drink. While there one thing led to another – another drink – so forth – then sex. Afterwards she asked if she could see him again which he replied he couldn’t because he had a girlfriend. She cussed, threw things and told him to find his own way home.
A month or so later a couple of officers picked him up and took him to jail – booked him for having sex with a minor. He denied it – said he had done no such thing. They named names and he said she had to be 21 or over because she had bought beer (which she had not. The sack she carried was a 6 pk of cokes – later learned this from pkg store manager) and she was driving. The girl turned out to be 14 yrs old! Got mad at him for not seeing her and turned him in. NEXT POST

 

During the hearing the judge and the DA said there would be no witnesses, no testimony against the girl because (in Texas) the Minor Law states that she will be kept out of it. Now, if I were to put this girl in a lineup with 21,22,23 yr old girls I would bet my paycheck none of you could guess who she was. She really does look 21 or over – I mean that. So the jury could not see her, could not hear testimony about her appearance or her actions. My cousin and our family were horrified, but we had a good attorney, and thought we could put up a good case. But, no. The judge would not hear anything we had to say – nothing. The case went to trial. He was found guilty and was sentenced to 30 years in the pen. 30 yrs! And he is only 19 yrs old! Last week when they led him away he was scared to death. Scared to death! I have always tried to raise my kids right and they did have a drug problem, like Bubba Shrimp posted in one of his threads. I drug them to church whether they liked it or not and they turned out, thank God, okay. Maybe my cousin did not have every advantage that my kids did, but he was never a “bad” kid. Is my view jaded or is this blatant injustice?

 

When would this young fellow be up for parole?
I was taken to church as a child and new better than to do something like this....even if she was 21 or older.......it's just not worth the risks involved.
Kids have to be taught not to play around with sex or there will be serious consequences......SERIOUS. I personally would find it difficult to send a kid to prison for that long. I think what I would do is fine the kid say......$10000 and community service and keep an eye on him for the next five years. But, the law is the law......what are you going to do. Laws are put there to protect people.

 

Is it legal for a 14 year old to drive in Texas? Do they need to have another licensed driver in the car?

 

thats crazy.... lets say he was in Minnesota, he could have murdered her and been out of prison by the time he was 25. now that im almost 21 ill have to check id's soon

 

Sounds like blatant injustice to me.

Don't get me wrong, your cousin was in the wrong, and deserved a punishment. Something along the lines of a fine and probation if your description of events is the truth. The girl was due for a day in court as well.

Sentencing that young man to 30 years in prison is a criminal act in my opinion. You've just taken a young man and destroyed his life, likely creating a life long criminal.

If the court case went down as you described, I'm having trouble even wrapping my head around the injustice of it.

How does that young girl sleep at night? Is there any way to contact her, play on her sense of right and wrong? I'm guessing this thing spiralled way beyond her intentions.

If I was you, I'd find a damn good lawyer and appeal. The cost will be enormous, but small compared to the cost of a young man's life. One that has already been greatly scarred.

Waxy

 

25 years for murder? Geez in Canada I know someone who got out on parole in 9 years from double murder!


Now just dont get caught with a loaded weapon in your car or on your person! THEN you'll be in real trouble.


But regarding your post, I don't think your jaded, nor does this sort of thing surprise me. Although I could give you a pile of different things to say if you could of said anything in court...that is irrelevant...Texas has harsh laws. I'm very sorry for your cousin. But I don't see what anyone is going to be able to do for him if they wouldn't even give him a chance to speak....when is he up for parole?

Chado

 

The moral issue does not seem to have been noticed here. That someone just regards a young female as throw away sensual gratification is disgusting. I know all you testosterone laden guys thing nothing of it, but girls do not particularly like to treated that way. Had he not have told her she was not going to see him again, he probably would never have been charged, because the girl would have stayed with him, loved him for a while, then gotten fed up and gone after some other guy. 14 year old girls are truly weird - they do not know what their bodies are doing most times, and often will pounce on an older guy, because the guys their own age are not into relationships. They pick an older guy because they want the "boyfriend' thing, so this youth, who uses, abuses and discarded her got the full brunt of her anger.

It is good that an example has been made, it will make others think a little harder before using girls for pleasure then throwing them away.

Theo

 

theologian- not flaming you here but you mentioned the whole moral issue- obviously this girl has none anyways.... shes 14, picks up and older guy after a few minutes of talking, takes him home, sleeps with him, then gets angry *after* this all happens when she finally askes him whether or not he has a girlfriend... makes me wonder where her parents, or where HER brains are...

like i mentioned earlier, in minnesota people usually get out of jail after 6 years for murder... yeah my uncle was in prison for not paying taxes, and watched killers and rapists walk in and out of that prison

 

Sounds like there was wrong doings all the way around but mostly with the girl and the court system.

14 or not, the girl is a tease and I think she is the most to blame. My view on this is because she drove to a package store to buy what the package store manager said was a six pack of cokes (what else is the mgr gonna say).

Teenagers aren't as sweet and innocent as we would like to believe. There was a couple of 13 yr olds in our neighborhood that looked, dressed and tried to act like they were much older. They'd walk down to our street so their parents couldn't see them jump in the car with some "Much Older" guys.

It's a shame, but I think BuiltToughF250 if right. It has come to the point where checking ID's before going out with someone should be a must.

 

Big Orn....can't you appeal??? I along with most on the board think that your cousin does deserve some type of punishment...I think a fine and probation...but 30 years??? I'd try an appeal....maybe you just got a judge that had a rough day or the wife gripped him out before he left for court.

 

The young woman should be held just as accountable as the young man. If not more so. She not only solicited the young man, but knew the law was being broken. Else she would never have informed the police.

If I were the judge, I would have given them each a year probation and ordered them to complete 200 hours of community service at a halfway house for unwed teenage mother's.

 

I'm kinda worked up about this post. I would be so steaming mad. The court system can be INCREDIBLY unjust at times. You really are powerless.

I just don't understand how you're supposed to get a fair trial when the courts forbid you from forming any kind of defense or even examining the facts? It just seems incredible to me that you would sentence a young man to 30 years in prison based solely on the word of a 14 year old girl and a beer store clerk covering his butt.

Theo,

I'm with BuiltTough and Carlene on this one, the girls actions were FAR from moral, you even suggested that yourself in your post. I get the impression that biological or not, this girl new exactly what she was doing. Quite frankly, the morality card isn't one that either party should be playing.

Waxy

 

Okay - here's some more. The girl's mother buys her alcohol and has pimped her out a few times before. The girl's father left when she was young and she had to fend for herself. This has happened many times before. BUT - my cousin is white and this girl is black and that is the difference this time. Does that have anything to do with it? I don't know - maybe. But what the court forgot to do is look at the problem - they focused on the girl ONLY. This young girl had been mistreated all her life - both mentally, physically and sexually. Now - how is she supposed to act? She has no idea - she has never been taught how.
If you went to a hardware store and bought a doodad that had a sticker cost of 90 cents on it and found out the next day it really cost 90 dollars would you be considered a thief? Whose fault would it be? Yours? The cashier? or the person that stuck the price tag on it?
What my cousin did was wrong, real wrong there ia no doubt about it, but what the injustice is here, I think, is that this young, battered and mistreated little girl will now go on doing what she has always done and never get disciplined for it.
After 5 yrs my cousin will have a chance at parole - but still at what cost? There is no justice here for either one of them Is it?

 

I can sum it up best. The law only pleases those who want to be pleased. If a 14 year old was to have sex with someone over the age of 18, then that person would be in the situation your cousin is in now. If that same 14 year old was to walk into a store and shoot 5 people in there, chances are the DA's office would then say, "she was old enough to know better, therefore we are charging her as an adult." It happens everyday. Makes me sick. People like to complain that there is no justice in this country when most of those people are only complaining for "victims" rights, when they don't even look at the accused person's rights or what there situation is. A lot of them think that the accused shouldn't have any rights and that is flat out wrong. People think that just because you make the news and that you have been arrested you are guilty regardless. In this country you are "guilty until proven innocent." ...................I need to stop here.

My opinion on this matter is that your cousin should have known better, as well as the girl, than to go off with some complete stranger and have sex with her. Does he deserve the punishment he got? In my opinion NO!! But look at it this way too, what if she had AIDS or something, he could possibly be looking at a "death sentence" instead. I'm not wanting to offend anyone.

My Dad always said that if a girl seems after you and it seems too good to be true, just like this situation, like a girl who is anxious to go to bed with you, he told me once, "stay away from them. They are dangerous. Think with your brains and not with your glands."

I truly feel sorry for your cousin. All I can tell you is to don't break down communication with him. He needs all the support he can get. He knows he screwed up, and that the punishment is harsher than it should have been.

As for the store owner, I dare say that he probably did sell her liquor, and that he probably just lied so he wouldn't lose his liquor license. If that's the case, he should be the one serving your cousin's punishment.

I'm done.