Posted on 05/15/2009 9:36:47 AM PDT by VeniVidiVici
SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. -- A child rapist who admitted to preying on nearly 20 children is now a free man. Kareem Merthe was released during a hearing in Seminole County Friday morning. His mother collapsed outside the courtroom and later died.
Officials say his mother went outside to get some fresh air when she collapsed.
The 26-year-old preacher's son had been locked up for nine years and as a young teen, Merthe admitted to preying on children as young as 4 years old. He told investigators he raped them at his father's church in Sanford.
Kareem Merthe had nothing to say to reporters once he left Seminole County Courthouse.
(Excerpt) Read more at wftv.com ...
ping
A preacher’s son named Kareem?
What contribution will be be ready to make to society? These people should just be executed. A good, fair trial; perhaps an appeal afterwards; and if considered guilty, an execution. Done.

Dead eyes.
Change his last name to "Merde" ... it would fit.
nine years for raping 20 kids? something is very wrong here, but then again it’s flori-DUH!
KAREEM????????? Where’s the “PREACHER” father??? At the MOSQUE?
“”The 26-year-old preacher’s son “”????
Is that supposed to be “the 26 year old, son of a preacher?”
Is that pronounced like “Murtha”?
I agree - yesterday there was a thread where this 25 yrs old got 100 years for raping 4 prosititues at knife point - they all testified against him. He got 25 years for each prostitution. He was a white guy in CA.
I don’t really care for that Flori-duh crap. FL is the third largest state by population. What do you expect, perfection?
What is your catch-phrase for the people in Minnesota and Mass? Those are the flake states. At least in FL you can carry.
i reckoon that in florida, the virture of children is worth less than the virtue of prostitutes.
Mr. Summerville's client is a sociopath who had the "doctors" figured out within one or two sessions and over time learned what to say and do to manipulate those doctors and get himself turned loose.
I work closely with people who call themselves "mental health professionals" and at the risk of offending someone, I have not met up with a much more gullible and dumb group of people in my life.
This pedophile will leave prison, and, once he is comfortable with his surroundings, will begin raping children once more. Count on it.
Wonder how many parents at that church felt safe because nobody at the church was on the sex offender registry?
It APPEARS (and I'm only guessing because the article doesn't say) that because he was a juvenile at the time of the offenses, and he apparently wasn't tried as an adult, he could only be held under the Juvenile Code until he turned eighteen, UNLESS under a statutory exception he was found to be a highly dangerous sex offender and could be held in a mental hospital past the age of majority.
So you've got a series of problems here: (1) he should have been tried as an adult, but most state's laws allow only for juveniles to be transferred to the adult system if they are accused of very serious crimes like murder, kidnapping, agg assault and so forth. Child molestation if not aggravated may not qualify under FL law. (2) he was never found guilty, only delinquent, so he could only be held until majority. (3) FL has apparently enacted a stopgap statute to continue to confine juveniles past the date of majority under certain circumstances. It's an exception and it's construed strictly and construed in favor of the defendant, so if he no longer meets the criteria then the judge really HAD to let him out.
That's my best read of the situation. In GA you are no longer a juvenile as of your 17th birthday, so here he would have been tried as an adult.
never gave minnesota much thought, to be honest, but in neighboring MASS they’re often referred to as “MASSholes”;-).
and yes, in florida one can carry, like in CT (where its’ concealed carry), and in Florida one can shoot if threatened, but some of us remember how things came to be - I remember AAA telling tourists to stay away from florida.
but the 2000 election circuis has permanently sealed the epithet for floridians - apoligies to the smart one.
There is another fact left out of this report:
While in a juvenile detention center for these crimes, he assaulted a 15 year old boy.
"Merde" is pronounced ( "maird" ) ... one syllable.
I was joking... kind of.
Probably a jailhouse conversion to islam.
My exact thought - thanks for the pic!
Yep. And you seem to be doing your part to cement that in the sheeple's minds. Thanks.
Merthe: Kid-raper
Neither one is worth a pile of Merde.
Three different psychologists testified in the case and each with a different opinion on Merthe’s mental state.
“Are you testifying that he is safe to be released?” asked State Attorney Anne Perrin.
“No, I am not testifying that he is safe to be released,” replied a doctor.
“The two other doctors say he doesn't meet the criteria anymore,” said Defense Attorney Tom Summerville.
In the end, the judge's decision came down to state law. By definition, Merthe no longer meets the criteria of a violent, high-risk sex offender.
Merthe was released and will not be monitored, because he was a juvenile at the time of the rapes. Merthe will be living with his uncle...”
FloriDUH SchmoriDUH! Sounds like the Circuit Judge Eaton Jr. needs to be impeached!
Juvenile my @ss!
That’s 164 days per child he destroyed. I guess it would take about 160 rapes for him to get life.
Short sentences for child rapists seem quite common. Many get far less than 9 years. I can’t imagine anything less than 20 or 25 years for a first offense and life or execution for a 2nd offense. (I’d be fine with life for the first offense).
It makes me wonder how much our society really values children.
This is the kind of sub-human that jails were built for...not for dope smokers. Now, I don’t want to decriminalize drugs, but we had better balance sentencing guidelines in this country of ours before child rapists like this one get dumped into society while some guy who got caught growing a pot plant in his backyard gets hit with a ten-year sentence.
Government wants to be and do everything, but it can’t handle a job like this, when this is a job it should do.
Yes, my point actually. Both rape innocent people, one literally and one figuratively
You can’t trust the legal system. Best to just kill these vermin the moment we catch them in the act.
Good minds are thinking alike. This is a pity.
In this new society, an old prostitute is worth more than a child.
Remember: our law considers them rubbish for the first nine months of their lives, and a majority of those who bothered to vote, voted for President a man who considers "inconvenient" children a "punishment" ... and thinks they should be killed even right after birth.
In the news report at the link, it is pronounced three different ways:
Merth-a (long a)
Mer-tha (short a)
Mer-the (long e)
You make a good point. If we don’t value children in the womb, or in their first few hours of life, it follows that we won’t value them as they grow older.
had florida (democrats) not made florida the laughingstock, there would be no reason to remember the hyjinks.
The POS should have been put down. He will continue in his crimes until stopped..
2nd the motion
Holy crap- this is...speechless.
I bet Bud Hedinger will have something to say about this today.
I cannot for the life of me understand why courts let these people run free. The reasons are stupid. Did they really think he’d changed just because he did this when he was a juvenile? No wonder his poor mother collapsed.
"Are you testifying that he is safe to be released?" asked State Attorney Anne Perrin.
"No, I am not testifying that he is safe to be released," replied a doctor.
"The two other doctors say he doesn't meet the criteria anymore," said Defense Attorney Tom Summerville.
In the end, the judge's decision came down to state law. By definition, Merthe no longer meets the criteria of a violent, high-risk sex offender.
Merthe was released and will not be monitored, because he was a juvenile at the time of the rapes. Merthe will be staying with his uncle.
Guard your children well, parents. This violent child rapist is all grown up now and free from a mental institution to roam at will to prey upon your children.
He won't be considered a "high risk" sex offender until he repeats his crimes as an adult this time. Your child could be the victim who elevates him to that category.
He probably got Kareemed in prison. Lots of them turn to Islam there.
He may still be executed. By his next intended victim, I hope.
He was probably kept in isolation;child molesters have a real short shelf life in general population.
I have a friend whose 10 year old daughter was raped by a neighbor who was 16. He has all the rights. She has none. He is in school, and they have not been informed of what he did.... because he has all the rights. There is no notification of any one, and no branding as a sex offender, and his records are sealed.
Next time he may find an armed parent.
> A preachers son named Kareem?
Maybe his father was a preacher of the Koran.
I hear that child rapists are not uncommon in that superstition.
ping
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.