It is awful what happened to Erica and her daughter, Marissa.  I cannot imagine the agony.  I am curious about what sort of sex offense this man was convicted of.

My son was accused, at the age of 18 of having sex with a 12-year-old.  Sounds absolutely disgusting doesn't it?  In spite of the fact that she admitted quite candidly in the police report to lying about her age, the fact that she was fully developed and looked much older would have no bearing if the prosecution could prove that this consensual sexual act took place before she was 13 years old.  He faced 19 years in prison.  He was offered various plea bargains but would accept none of them.  Had he done so, he would have had the official label as a "sexual offender".  $50,000 in attorney fees later, he was acquitted on all charges.  Lucky us!  It was terrifying. 

I know that this does not come close to the agony that Erika has endured.  However, for someone who has been on the other side of a sex-offense case, I wonder what is meant by tougher laws?   Are we going to get tougher on the true sex offender... the man who kidnaps a little girl and rapes her? Or are we going to widen the definition of what constitutes a sexual offense? 

By the way, I will be voting for Marty based on the improvements to our city in terms of beautification, recreational facilities, transportation, etc.  I am not at all for 100 more cops on the streets.  I will overlook that.  But I don't like it.  It is nothing but propaganda.

Rick