Posted on 08/02/2010 7:07:29 PM PDT by JoeProBono
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A former English teacher has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for traveling to Thailand to have sex with minors.
The sentence was ordered after prosecutors challenged a previous 10-year sentence, calling it too lenient.
(Excerpt) Read more at hosted.ap.org ...
Good!
Yes he is despicable scum, but how is it that the USA has jurisdiction in this manner? What if I went to another country and yodeled, but it was illegal to yodel in the States - could I then be charged?
people really think evil that is hidden in another country is less evil.....its actually the worse evil....
hope he makes a nice jail mate for somebody....maybe he can understand someday powerlessness and hopelessness....
May God forgive him.....
His name is Prowler?
Delicious!
OK, the guy’s obviously screwed up and a pervert and there is ZERO defense for the sickness of his lechery, his lack of complete moral center.
But how is it legal to prosecute someone for committing an act that is legal outside the jurisdiction of the US?
Will the US now prosecute all those who go to Amsterdam and smoke some pot (legal there)?
Will the US now prosecute all those who watch animated child porn in Japan (legal there)?
Will the US now prosecute any persons between the ages of 19 and 21 who drinks a beer in Canada (legal there)?
Will the US now prosecute any persons who drive faster than 70 MPH (112 kph) in Germany (legal on the Autobahns)?
How does the US Government justify extending its jurisdiction worldwide, essentially forcing its own laws on its citizens no matter what the local laws are? What if the two are in conflict?
Something’s really screwed up in the justice system when this can happen...
I’m not sure I agree with this decision; do American laws apply to Americans traveling abroad? If so, it opens the door to a lot of possible legal hurt: take, for instance, El Paso Texas being both a border-town and a college-town there are numerous students who cross the border in order to ‘legally’ drink alcohol in Mexico.
Oh, my mistake, it's Minors not Miners.
Nevermind...
Quite agreed.
i was just thinking the same thing. Is there a law against sex with minors in thailand? I don’t think there is. I don’t even think europe has a law against it.
What is the US law he broke? Is there a law about traveling to another country to have sex with a minor? Interesting. Now, personally, I’d like to see all child rapists DEAD, but I just wonder how they got him.
Unless he is the biggest and blandest, his cell mate will treat him like he treated them.
EXACTLY!
And what about this - the age of consent in Tunisia is 20 years old. What if you have sex with a 19 year old in Tunisia, will the US Government come and bail you out because that’s legal in the US, demand that Tunisia release you because “it’s not illegal” in the US?
This is just plain wrong...
States have jurisdiction for violations that occurred outside their state. If I was a North Carolina resident instead of a Colorado one when I got a speeding ticket in Missouri in Nov 2007 for doing 87 mph in a 70 mph, I would have been punished twice. I had to pay a fine and received points against my Missouri driving privilege. When NC got the report of the violation, I would have been called in and had my NC license suspended ! But since I have a CO license, no points, no action.
Due to the circumstances of the ticket, they would not plea bargain the ticket.
> Will the US now prosecute any persons who drive faster than 70 MPH (112 kph) in Germany (legal on the Autobahns)?
My understanding is that there IS a federal law against traveling to a foreign country for the purpose of having sex with underage girls/boys. Apparently there was quite the “tourist” industry sprouting up along these lines.
That’s what I understand the law to be about
In Thailand, the age of consent is 15. That gets you busted in the US, over there it's legal.
What about Hong Kong, Australia, the Netherlands, or Germany, where prostitution is legal? If you visit a whorehouse over there, nothing happens (other than you lose money and may end up with a VD). Will the US Government now throw you in jail because you paid for sex?
It was a travesty the first time - 10 years for a LEGAL act in a foreign country. But to have it extended to 25 years is simply insane.
The age of consent in Thailand, according to a quick web-search, is 15... certainly a ‘minor’ here in the US.
The law has been changed so that Americans who travel abroad to commit acts with children that are illegal here can be charged, even if the behavior is not illegal in the country where the act takes place.
18 U.S.C. § 2423(c) prohibits an American citizen or national engaging in illicit sexual conduct outside the United States and carries a 30 year maximum sentence.
Evidently, Prowler needs a jump.
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