How would you like to be the parents of this little girl
A long-time businessman in Stockton, California, Lyle Burgess, pleaded no contest to a charge of statutory rape of a 5-year-old. His punishment: 90 days of house arrest and five years of information probation
To make matters even worse, the 79-year-old does
not have to register as a sex offender.
"A 5-6-year-old little girl was molested. Normally the sentence is state prison and then when you're released, you have to register as a sex offender," family attorney Ken Meleyco said. "He's obviously very wealthy and it's just an example of how the wealthy people, time and time again, escape the penalty for what they did."
"It is just appalling that somebody commits an offense like this and you have protections like 290 (failure to register as a sex offender) and Jessica’s Law and someone has the propensity to harm children and now nobody is warned," Davenport told
The Stockton Record.
According to Burgess' attorney, Gregory Davenport, the family is doing this with an agenda in mind.
"I believe the allegations are motivated by greed," Davenport told The Stockton Record. "They are using this instance to try to gain financially.”
The rape in question allegedly took place in 2016 when Burgess — a trusted family friend and someone who knew the dad for more than two decades — invited the family to his cabin in Calaveras County,
The Sacramento Bee reported.
"They trusted this man, he was a family friend, and he took advantage of them," Meleyco told
KMOV-TV.
Meleyco says the now 7-year-old is not doing very well. "She's showing all the symptoms of somebody who's been molested. She's in counseling, and she's gonna be in counseling all her life."
The Stockton Record details the parents' testimony:
I’m incredibly disgusted by his behavior and continuously disgusted by his lies,” she said before describing his sentence as “getting off so easy” and not registering as a sex offender.
“I want other kids to be protected by possible future abuse by this man,” she said.
The victim’s father, who has known Burgess for more than two decades, said: “I don’t have too many prized possessions in this world other than my family. (My daughter) will remember this the rest of her life. She sleeps on the floor outside our room."
https://townhall.com/notebook/bethba...child-n2484710
Originally Posted by Common
Reply With Quote
