The Judge Prayed and Decided It Was Inappropriate to Send a Rich, Probation-Violating, Multiple Rapist of Teenage Girls to Prison.

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“Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe.” ― Albert Einstein


I have finished making 50 of my Russian grandmother’s potato/Farmer’s cheese pierogis. It takes me about 4 1/2 hours. I’m that one person in many families who has the crowd over to the home for a full Thanksgiving dinner which, in my case, includes a few Russian dishes. Consequently, I’m a bit tired and still have miles to go before I sleep.

However, it’s a Wednesday and a post should be forthcoming. This one will be short and sweet because there is little I can say without wanting to cuss and that is something I don’t like to do in polite company. Let’s start with the title of the article from the Christian Post. After praying, judge finds jail ‘inappropriate’ for man convicted of raping, sexually assaulting 4 teen girls.

You can be sure I didn’t believe it immediately so I looked for other sources. Darn. They are out there and say pretty much the same thing. KCRA, Channel 3 in Sacramento, CA, posted Judge: Jailing man who pleaded guilty to rape, sexual assault of 4 teens would be inappropriate.

The Christian Post reported:

  • 20-year-old Christopher J. Belter who was convicted of rape, sexual abuse and sexual assault against the teenage girls in his Lewiston home, WKBW reported. “There was great harm. There were multiple crimes committed in the case.”
  • M.M. was at Belter’s house one night with his sister when he invited her into his room, threw her onto his bed, pulled off her clothes then attacked her. She was 16 at the time.Citing M.M.’s written testimony, Murphy noted, according to The Buffalo News, that she “spoke about a plant that she focused on in the Defendant’s room that she focused on as he was raping her. During the rape, he told her to stop being such a baby. She focused her attention on the leaves of the plant as she cried during the attack. The Defendant told her that, if she stopped resisting, it wouldn’t hurt as much.”

A lawyer for one of the victim’s said (from the Christian Post)

“If Chris Belter was not a white defendant from a rich and influential family” he “would surely have been sentenced to prison.”

According to KCRA:

The charges stem from four separate incidents in 2017 and 2018 in Lewiston, New York, the documents state. He and the victims were all under 18 at the time.

Belter was placed on interim probation for two years with limits on his internet use and access to pornography, the documents state.

But he violated the terms of his probation, according to court documents. Judge Matthew J. Murphy denied him Youthful Offender status and ruled he’d be sentenced as an adult, the documents state.

So, the judge did what any judge would do in a slam dunk situation like this one. He PRAYED. And what were the results of this prayer? The New York Times picked up on the story: Judge Spares Man in Teen Rape Case: ‘Incarceration Isn’t Appropriate’

“I’m not ashamed to say that I actually prayed over what is the appropriate sentence in this case because there was great pain,” the judge, Matthew J. Murphy III of Niagara, N.Y., County Court, said at Mr. Belter’s sentencing on Tuesday, according to WKBW, a local television station. “There was great harm. There were multiple crimes committed in the case.”

Still, the judge continued, “It seems to me that a sentence that involves incarceration or partial incarceration isn’t appropriate.” He told Mr. Belter, who must register as a sex offender, the probation would be “like a sword hanging” over his head for the next eight years. He offered no further explanation for why the sentence did not include prison time.

Wow! Now that was an answer from the Almighty, for sure! Let’s keep this MAN, who violated the terms of his probation, out of jail! So what might be in paly here? Here’s are a couple of interesting facts about the case. He would apparently have kids to his house for “gatherings.” According to the NYT, Brian Seaman, the Niagara County district attorney, called it  “a house of sexual assault.”

(The house) was popular among those in Mr. Belter’s circle because of the loose rules governing what they could do there.

…Mr. Belter’s father, who is also named Christopher and is divorced from Mr. Belter’s mother, is a senior partner at Goldberg Segalla, a large law firm where, according to The American Lawyer magazine, some partners earn up to $1 million a year. (He, Mr. Belter’s mother and her current husband, Gary Sullo, are named as defendants in a lawsuit filed by M.M.’s family.)

…When Mr. Belter was arrested, the authorities also charged his mother, Tricia Vacanti, with supplying alcohol and marijuana to teenagers at parties at the house on various occasions.

…Mr. Sullo is the chief executive of Tramec LLC, a privately held company that supplies parts for heavy duty trucks and, according to Dun & Bradstreet, has annual sales of $110 million.

The New York Times reported on Belter’s original probation which he apparently was not inclined to keep.

A different judge gave Mr. Belter, who was 16 and 17 at the time of his crimes, an interim sentence of two years’ probation. The sentence offered him the chance, if he met its terms, of being treated as a youthful offender when his final sentence was decided — reducing, or even eliminating, any potential prison term and allowing him to avoid registering as a sex offender.

…Among other things, the interim sentence prohibited Mr. Belter from viewing pornography, something he subsequently acknowledged doing anyway by installing software on his personal computer to flout the restriction, court records show.

…Mr. Belter told a probation officer that he had been watching pornography regularly since he was 7 and that it was a “coping mechanism,” Judge Murphy wrote in an October ruling denying him youthful offender status. He also noted in the ruling that Mr. Belter had “recently been treated with medication to lessen his libido.”

So, the current judge got some sort of indication from an undefined “Higher Power” that he should hand a 20-year-old rapist, with libido and pornography problems, a get out of jail free card?

>>>>>>>>>>> Banging my head on the table and scaring Tulip and Buttercup <<<<<<<<<<<<<

I believe that most reasonable people would agree that this young man deserved some time in the slammer. Here is what I believe might have happened:

  • The judge lives in a community dominated by wealthy people.
  • Things seem to be a bit “interesting” at the rapist’s home if the reports are to be believed.
  • This 20-year-old man is allegedly on meds to “lessen his libido” which leads me to believe that there may be more unwanted sexual acts in the future.
  • Could there have been undue pressure brought to bear on this judge? Maybe the DA should look into such a scenario but what do I know?

Finally, if the judge felt his decision was based on an answer to his prayer from God, then I think he should consult the Catholic church for the Rite of Exorcism. Sometimes, God has answered our prayer before we have even prayed. For example, if I felt the need for a Snickers bar and the store I drove to was surrounded by a bunch of thugs waving guns, I do not need to pray to God to protect me. I need to go find another store that sells Snickers. Easy peasy lesson on using the brains that God has given us.

In this particular incident, it appears that the answer was staring the judge straight in his face. A man raped several victims, found a way to view pornography against the express orders of the court, and is on medication to lessen his libido. What answer was the judge seeking from the Almighty?

Now I need to finish up on some pies.

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

Comments

The Judge Prayed and Decided It Was Inappropriate to Send a Rich, Probation-Violating, Multiple Rapist of Teenage Girls to Prison. — 52 Comments

  1. Why do you hate white men?
    Shouldn’t they have a chance for redemption instead of ruining their life by sending them to prison?
    Wait! I think I may have mixed up my holidays. Is this April Fools Day or the eve of Thanksgiving?
    Either way, this judge is a joke and needs the boot!

  2. My family eats a variation of pierogis called bierocks. Bread bun with beef, onions, carrots, etc. We are descended from Germans that lived along the Volga in Russia. Always served at get together. Proud to say that my sons make them now.

  3. The judge said he prayed, Uh huh. Did he say to whom, or what, he prayed. Either he bought and paid for or he’s a devil worshipper ……. Maybe both..
    ******************************************************************************************

    Going to my aunt’s for dinner tomorrow. We all bring dishes. My broccoli salad, punkin pie, and sweet potato casserole are all done…… going to make yeast rolls in the morning.

  4. Years and years and years ago (so long ago that the children involved probably have teenagers now), I was brought in to do doc review on a custody case appeal where the parents were Renaissance Faire / Dungeons and Dragons types. This didn’t go so well down in Utah County, Utah. Long, long, LONG story short, but the state was trying to take these kids away from these unconventional parents and place them with a “more normal” family as a group. The parents would have benefited from more income and a more stable income source, but the kids were in no danger that I could see from the volumes of court transcripts and evidence introduced.

    The judge had the kids removed from their parents and ordered parental rights to be severed. She did this after she went and prayed in the Provo, Utah, Mormon temple. I know the appellate attorney for the parents was trying to bring that up in the appeal, but it wasn’t successful. *sigh*

    Not offering this for any “moral of the story” but just sharing my experience in a completely depressing case.

  5. Happy thanksgiving!
    I am thankful that TWW exists, and all the thoughtful readers, commenters!
    When one “boils it all down”, Christ said it best ( surprise, surprise)
    “Love the Lord your G$d, ……. And Love your neighbor as yourself”….
    To me, those abused, especially by those associated with “The Church” are my neighbor, no mater where they are, and part of “Loving them”, is listening to, and validating that they have been abused.
    If it makes “dear leader”, or “dear org” look bad, oh well….

  6. “Finally, if the judge felt his decision was based on an answer to his prayer from God,”

    The judge’s god, the god who answered his prayer… may not send a rapist of minors to jail. However, the rapist, the judge, and their god can find each other in Eternity.

    Justice delayed, by and for the prince of this world and his cronies.

  7. “there is little I can say without wanting to cuss”

    I resemble that remark. There are some the things I would like to post, but I would have to lose my Christianity first!

  8. “… the current judge got some sort of indication from an undefined “Higher Power” …”

    “Her prophets whitewash these deeds for them by false visions and lying divinations. They say, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says’ — when the LORD has not spoken” (Ezekiel 22:28)

    The Judge knows not the heart of God, who is always on the side of the abused not the abuser.

  9. With this comment, I am signing out of the blogosphere for the day.

    Heading shortly to my daughter’s home 30 miles away over hills and through valleys for a Thanksgiving feast with family, including my fishing buddy grandsons. Papaw (me) slow-cooked the ham to fall-off-the-bone tender. We are also taking cherry and peach pies, Gramma’s famous bean salad, and various other fixins to go with numerous delicacies prepared by our daughter.

    Today, I will forget the bad-boy Judge and focus on the blessings of another Judge who is also my Savior.

    Happy Thanksgiving, Wartburgers. Don’t eat too much.

  10. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/critics-blast-education-department-s-move-to-limit-reporting-of-teacher-sexual-assaults/ar-AAR3lik

    “The Department of Education is seeking to remove a question from its 2021-2022 Civil Rights Data Collection that asked school districts to report the number of teacher-student sexual assaults that occurred.

    “Without asking for the difference in sexual assault perpetrators, the report will no longer be able to differentiate between student-student assaults and teacher-student assaults. An education department spokesperson told the Washington Free Beacon the move was meant to “reduce burden and duplication of data.”

    “If you wonder why American families have lost all faith in the education system, this is another example as to why,” DeVos said.”

  11. Re the post: I grew up in the oilfield. Learned to cuss in two languages. And I don’t have words for the evil the judge did. But I take comfort in the fact of the coming age when there will be no evil, it having been so annihilated we won’t even remember it.

    But I sure would like to take that judge fishing in Shannon County. I know, I need to repent of that thought.

    Ya’ll that pray keep praying: our extended family member, unvaxxed, with covid now around 5-6 weeks, in icu around 3 weeks, has taken more turns for the worse. Some surgery given, nothing fixed. Things keep sliding the wrong direction.

    And for Thanksgiving: pecan pie (dark syrup recipe) just exited the oven. Depression hot rolls rising in fridge to cook later. Cranberry sauce made. This afternoon will do the turkey, gravy, stuffing, potatoes, yams, and corn Lord willing.

    Just the two of us again this year, our choice. We live in a county that just celebrated getting 33% vaxxed, poor uptake on booster also, and with an over 22% test positivity rate. So we are not being gadabouts or inviting others in. Have been and will continue to be in contact by various electronic means with the kids and grands in other states today.

    Considering when the pandemic hit store shelves here went bare and stayed that way a long time, we are blessed. Healthy, happy, plenty of food, a nice misty cold windy day today sandwiched between warmer sunnier days.

    All this, and Heaven to come. God is good to us and we are thankful!

  12. Max: focus on the blessings of another Judge who is also my Savior.

    Thx for the update, Max. Enjoy your family time. God bless.

    Side note: And as we give thanks for our blessings, let us remember in prayer, and in deed those less fortunate whom we are blessed and called upon to assist in their times of distress through no fault of their own. Not the lawless but the unfortunate, the abandoned, the afflicted. The Ruth, Naomi, the David fleeing from Saul, the Joseph in prison, as Jesus said, What you do to them, you do to Me.

    I received a desperate email with a request from a young woman last night. So I’ll be working on that for a time before our family gathers.

    Suffering does not grant days off and holidays. We do what we can and pray to Almighty God to do what we can’t. There but for the grace of God go the rest of us, the blessed. We are blessed for one purpose, the capacity to share, that is, to bless others.

  13. I like how the pious judge “prayed about it”, virtue-signalling his Christian credentials after deciding “Money Talks”. Yet another example of “The LOOOORD Told Me To…” Private Revelation.

    But with all the Crapola that gets covered on this blog, does anyone really expect anything else from CHRISTIANS(TM)?

  14. JDV: “The Department of Education is seeking to remove a question from its 2021-2022 Civil Rights Data Collection that asked school districts to report the number of teacher-student sexual assaults that occurred.

    Soviet System.
    Welcome to the new Party Line/Official Story.
    If it’s never reported, It Never Happened and You Can’t Prove It Ever Did.

  15. Max: apaw (me) slow-cooked the ham to fall-off-the-bone tender. We are also taking cherry and peach pies, Gramma’s famous bean salad, and various other fixins to go with numerous delicacies prepared by our daughter.

    MAX YOU’RE MAKING ME HUNGRY!

  16. Muslin, fka Dee Holmes: I was brought in to do doc review on a custody case appeal where the parents were Renaissance Faire / Dungeons and Dragons types.

    AKA “SATANISTS!!!!!!!!!!”
    Big-time D&Der and veteran/survivor of The Satanic Panic here.
    I know the drill.

    And would also like to point out that “praying about it” before the unjust decision is the Christianese way to shift the blame when the heat flares up — “NOT MY FAULT! GOD TOLD ME TO!!!!!”

    “GAWD SAITH”, the Ultimate Excuse Machine. My writing partner (the burned-out preacher) once told me about a guy he knew who did exactly that with his retirement investments and lost everything. “Now you’re trying to tell me It’s All God’s Fault? God gave you bum investment tips? Really?”

  17. Headless Unicorn Guy: If it’s never reported, It Never Happened and You Can’t Prove It Ever Did.

    Although this removal of a reporting regulation looks awful on the surface, I would like to know more, and could not find much beyond one news story. The questions to be retired were added only the previous year, under an education secretary who has spent years and untold millions boosting Christian homeschooling. A stated reason for the regulations’ removal is to avoid duplication. Perhaps the questions artificially inflated numbers that were already available. I don’t know.

    Around here, a local school district employee was recently charged with offenses against a minor. It was all over the news and police websites. These records are public and robust.

    As a parent, I can say that our public school faculty and administrators, and local law enforcement, take sexual assault allegations very, very seriously. I know of one case in which an adult volunteer groomed an underage student. Trust me, all hell broke loose. But this man was not charged, and information was limited because of rules and laws to protect the student’s confidentiality.

    I do not believe that the new/sunsetting regulations would have exposed the grooming man’s misdeeds. All manner of laws prevent school districts from divulging information about minors. Even when a student dies—dies!—our school district cannot announce the death without the express permission of the student’s parents.

    All decent people want to prevent sexual assault in schools, and expose people who commit misdeeds, but it’s actually complicated.

  18. Muslin, fka Dee Holmes: The judge had the kids removed from their parents and ordered parental rights to be severed. She did this after she went and prayed in the Provo, Utah, Mormon temple.

    I detest the whole “God told me” line. People who use it in these kinds of situations are passing the buck instead of taking responsibility for their own decisions.

  19. Wild Honey: “God told me” line

    I once had a church music director tell me “God told me that you are to take the lead role in the Christmas program.” He had been struggling to get enough volunteers for the play. Not feeling any leading in that direction, nor acting aptitude, I responded “Hmmmm, God didn’t tell me that. Sorry.”

  20. The love of Mammon is a root for all kinds of evil. This case has BIG BRIBE written all over it. It is the only logical recourse. Mom and dad being very rich and powerful can have a big sway. The price for this was large. But wait for this perp to do this somewhere outside this small village. It may not work next time…

  21. Max–I have the same reaction to the “God told me” line.

    Once our kids were extra sheep and wisemen in the Christmas pageant. About 4 days before Christmas my husband was assigned a drilling rig in another state. The company gave us use of a 4 wheel drive car, a nice motel room, and expense acct, so we decided to enjoy the event anyway. It was back in a town we just had moved from a couple of years before, so we would go to our old church, see old friends, etc. The tool pusher’s wife took us in for Christmas day complete with a feast, entertained my kids, and made it a wonderful memory.

    Our church regarding pulling the kids from the program? The response was “If you are happy not being with Jesus on Christmas, putting your husband first, that says a lot about you.” Yeah. It said I was in the wrong church, which was quickly remedied lol.

  22. Max: I once had a church music director tell me “God told me that you are to take the lead role in the Christmas program.”

    “The phrase ‘God Told Me To…” should be approached with the same caution as the phrase ‘Please Castrate Me’.”

  23. Max: I once had a church music director tell me “God told me that you are to take the lead role in the Christmas program.”

    “God Tole Me To (followed by demand)” – conjuring and binding God as your Muscle to force Your Will on someone else. “MY Will Be Done!”

    Just like a witch-man/Hexen using his conjured/familiar spirits as his personal Enforcers.

  24. linda: “If you are happy not being with Jesus on Christmas, putting your husband first, that says a lot about you.”

    “HELLO, GOD? I WANT TO BOOK A GUILT TRIP FOR SO-AND-SO.”
    — Rich Buhler

    “From the cover of Heaven’s Gate
    I MANIPULATE.”
    — Steve Taylor

  25. linda: I was in the wrong church, which was quickly remedied lol

    There’s been an outbreak of that in America. The pewsitters are getting wise to pulpits which manipulate, intimidate and dominate. They are heading for the Done ranks in great numbers … done with doing church without God, but not done with Jesus.

  26. Ava Aaronson: Money talks, answers prayer, apparently.

    Simon tried to buy the Holy Spirit from the Apostles … they responded “May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money!” (Acts 8)

  27. Mr. Jesperson: This case has BIG BRIBE written all over it.

    It does make one wonder – or whether there is some compromising information held over him.
    You’d think a man could at least think what it would be like if his own daughter was a victim of a perp. like this and respond more appropriately, but apparently not this one…

  28. Max: pulpits which manipulate, intimidate and dominate.

    “Noble Cause Corruption”. It’s a thing. IOW, end justifies the means.

    In contrast, Jesus was 100% noble with 0% corruption.

  29. Ava Aaronson: “Noble Cause Corruption”. It’s a thing. IOW, end justifies the means.

    I suppose that is why the young reformers have no problem lying to pastor search committees about their theological leaning. They must feel that stealth and deception are justifiable in order for the New Calvinist movement to restore the one true gospel to the church. They certainly have a passion for their cause, but it is a misplaced passion.

  30. Ava Aaronson: “Noble Cause Corruption”. It’s a thing. IOW, end justifies the means.

    A Righteous enough cause justifies Any Means Necessary (or any atrocity) to bring it about.
    Just ask Citizen Robespierre, Comrade Pol Pot, and Mullah Omar.

  31. readingalong: Mr. Jesperson: This case has BIG BRIBE written all over it.

    It does make one wonder – or whether there is some compromising information held over him.

    AKA Bribe or Blackmail?

  32. Max: Simon tried to buy the Holy Spirit from the Apostles … they responded “May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money!” (Acts 8)

    One paraphrase I read put it this way:
    “Go to Hell and take your money with you!”

  33. This would get me tossed from many evangelical churches but for a very long time I’ve felt 99% or maybe 99.999% of “I prayed and God told me ….” is just someone meditating on a decision till they feel comfortable with it. Does God really agree with people 99.999% of the time. Does he really never tell people that their preconceived idea is wrong?

    How many times does someone say “I prayed on it and God told me to forget my plan as it is a bad idea.”

  34. Max,
    Good for you, Max!

    Yeah, “God told” a former elder that my husband and I were supposed to lead a small group. Until he (the elder, not God) discovered I had a mind of my own, that is.

  35. NC Now: Does God really agree with people 99.999% of the time. Does he really never tell people that their preconceived idea is wrong?

    Is God really nothing more than the Visionary’s Yes-Man?

    I don’t know any two people who agree 99.999% of the time.

  36. Wild Honey: mind of my own

    If you don’t, you will be easy prey for the Christian Industrial Complex and its band of pulpit puppeteers. Critical thinking among Christians seems to be rarely exercised these days … we are being duped by the millions.

  37. Wild Honey: Yeah, “God told” a former elder that my husband and I were supposed to lead a small group.

    You got off easy.
    What if “God Told” the elder that you were to let him into your pants?
    It’s happened before. A lot.
    Remember that scandal about “Spiritual Dancing” many years ago?

  38. This is what we will be seeing from now on from conservative Christians. The God of the bible is a God of hate and evil. More people have been murdered and raped in the name of God and Jesus then compared to the devil, much more. I vow to never accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and savior. He has brought nothing but pain and suffering to the world, the blood spilled in his name is on the hands of all Christians.
    This judge did what God wanted and what God wants is pain and suffering. Stop worshipping an evil God and there will be less evil in the world.

  39. Renee: More people have been murdered and raped in the name of God and Jesus then compared to the devil, much more.

    20th century atheist dictatorships far surpassed death counts from all the various religious wars. Are you saying atheism is more humane?

  40. Renee: in the name of God and Jesus

    Saying and doing things in the “name” of Jesus, is not the same as being “in” Jesus.

    “I have been crucified with Christ; that is, in Him I have shared His crucifixion. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body I live by faith by adhering to, relying on, and completely trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.” (Galatians 2:20)

    As you note, much misery has been inflicted on the world by those who proclaim the name of Jesus, but who don’t know Him, who don’t have Christ living in them, who know not the love of Jesus.

  41. Max: As you note, much misery has been inflicted on the world by those who proclaim the name of Jesus, but who don’t know Him, who don’t have Christ living in them, who know not the love of Jesus.

    I agree with you, but this very reasonable idea often turns into the No True Scotsman fallacy: anybody who does something wrong is obviously not a True Christian, according to True Christians.

    The 20th century alone held sobering lessons about Christianity (and other religions) and atheism. While the Third Reich had its own made-up folk religion, most of its proponents had been raised as Christians. The Russian Revolution reacted against the not-so-Christian regime of the tsars. In the officially atheist USSR, Stalin had been a seminary student.

    Power corrupts, regardless of religious affiliation; yet one group after another comes forward to claim it has the answer, and all it needs is enough power.

  42. Friend: Power corrupts, regardless of religious affiliation; yet one group after another comes forward to claim it has the answer, and all it needs is enough power.

    Dominionism.

    Everyone should hear the Good News, and everyone then chooses their response.

    Rule of Law and the Common Good produce civility. These are civic mandates legislated by sound governments.

    The Good News and following Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit go beyond civility but this is personal choice and devotion, not a mandate from Heaven for strongman + sycophants to rule the Earth.

    The Good News is an invitation not a mandate. God invites. And yes, there are rewards and consequences, eventually. But it’s a personal choice to play the long game. Or not.

  43. Ken F (aka Tweed): 20th century atheist dictatorships far surpassed death counts from all the various religious wars. Are you saying atheism is more humane?

    Without doing the math, i.e. Mao’s Great Leap Forward is estimated to have had a 90M toll, it can be clearly understood that rape and pillage in the name of Jesus is the ultimate scam & twisted evil camouflaged by religion. Despite the number comparisons.

    Reference: the novel “Legal Grounds” depicts a religious dad using the 5th commandment to violate his own children. Evil beyond atheism. Better no god than a god who blesses violating children.

    This is what the Creator God has to deal with in communicating His message of truth and love in our fallen and sick world.

    Twisted religious evil may not have breadth, but it certainly has depth and therefore enormous impact.

  44. Friend: No True Scotsman fallacy: anybody who does something wrong is obviously not a True Christian, according to True Christians

    Even “True” Christians are sinners.

    “If we refuse to admit that we are sinners, then we live in a world of illusion and truth becomes a stranger to us. But if we freely admit that we have sinned, we find God utterly reliable and straightforward — He forgives our sins and makes us thoroughly clean from all that is evil. For if we take up the attitude “we have not sinned”, we flatly deny God’s diagnosis of our condition and cut ourselves off from what He has to say to us.” (1 John 1:8-10 Phillips)

  45. Was that mother poisoning her son with marijuana since he was seven? How long did her new (or old) man know about this? What have they been trying to do about this?

  46. Michael in UK: What have they been trying to do about this?

    I’m just one person living in one place, but the whole tale astounds me. In our public schools, parents are constantly warned not to let teens have parties with illegal things going on. Parents can be prosecuted if underage visitors drink, smoke, etc. Around here, people under 21 can’t even have tobacco. All it takes is for a neighbor to call police about noise after say 10 pm.

    Some time back, neighbors asked us to watch over their house while they went away for one night. Although their kid was generally good, word of the “free crib” (“adults are away”) spread. Vehicles swarmed the neighborhood—it was far outside the control of one teen. This is how these parties sometimes work: kids show up in overwhelming numbers, whether or not they were invited.

    My husband and I kept it low key, but quietly took steps to protect the hapless kid and whoever else was around. For awhile I just stood outside looking vaguely unimpressed. A whole parade of cars full of teens turned around and left instead of parking.

    I cannot imagine the mentality of the parents described in this news story. With their example, their son never had a chance to develop a good moral compass, although he is certainly and entirely responsible for his own crimes.