Posted on 03/17/2010 10:02:22 AM PDT by Utah Binger
LOL.
So it is a major concern if it is one of yours, not so much if not.
Got it.
Yes. A sad but too often told tale. The whole story keeps making me think of this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvfb8GcKAWs
Young teacher, the subject
Of schoolgirl fantasy
She wants him so badly
Knows what she wants to be
Inside her there’s longing
This girls an open page
Book marking - she’s so close now
This girl is half his age
Don’t stand, don’t stand so
Don’t stand so close to me
Her friends are so jealous
You know how bad girls get
Sometimes it’s not so easy
To be the teachers pet
Temptation, frustration
So bad it makes him cry
Wet bus stop, she’s waiting
His car is warm and dry
Don’t stand, don’t stand so
Don’t stand so close to me
Loose talk in the classroom
To hurt they try and try
Strong words in the staffroom
The accusations fly
Its no use, he sees her
He starts to shake and cough
Just like the old man in
That book by nabakov
Don’t stand, don’t stand so
Don’t stand so close to me
Don’t stand, don’t stand so
Don’t stand so close to me
What’s the big deal? Subsitute the name Bill sh-taxx klinton for Garn and the MSM would probably telling us he was one of the greatest C.I.C.s in our history.
>>So it is a major concern if it is one of yours, not so much if not.
Got it.<<
Close. It is a major concern if it is one of mine because I know them and their motivations. I do not have enough info on this girl or her personality to have an opinion regarding that.
It is wrong to me in principle for a variety of reasons. It was wrong for me to make out with girls in a parked car when I was 18.
I just know that some 15 year old girls are dangerous to ALL men. They just are. I’ve seen plenty of them. Solomon talks of them.
But the reverse happens often as well. It is not always the teenager’s fault. Adults are responsible for setting boundaries.
Years ago I found out that a professor friend of mine who befriend me was in love with me and thinking of leaving his wife for me (I was 16 when we met, he was 43).
I had no clue at the time and didn’t pursue him and was oblivious to his advances (I was dating his son). I can see now how he crossed boundaries but then I was in denial because he was so much older and an authority figure.
>>But the reverse happens often as well. <<
I firmly agree.
Problem is, we really don’t know how it went down here. We just have some basic 25 year old facts.
He was an adult then as well. He should be judged for what he did then.
A 15 year old girl? Different story.
We don’t have any idea, but the fact that he paid her rather than calling the cops, speaks volumes.
Secondly, he had a responsibility to never get into that situation (in a hot tub in a rent by the hour motel) in the first place.
She’s trashy?!?!
His life wouldn’t be ruined if he didn’t go along with it. It’s not like he couldn’t have said no.
>>We don’t have any idea, but the fact that he paid her rather than calling the cops, speaks volumes.<<
That one actually makes sense, assuming he had the money. “The people” are kinda weird about this sort of thing. ;)
A bigger story may be the answer to the question, “where did he get the money?”.
>>We don’t have any idea, but the fact that he paid her rather than calling the cops, speaks volumes.<<
That one actually makes sense, assuming he had the money. “The people” are kinda weird about this sort of thing. ;)
A bigger story may be the answer to the question, “where did he get the money?”.
Remember, that payment got him 8 more years.
What is it with you newb trolls?
Getting in a hot tub with her naked is OK as long as he didn’t murder her?!?!
And why throw all the blame on her for not reporting it if he had molested her? Like getting a 15 year old girl in a hot tub isn’t some form of molestation itself?
Who knows what kinds of threats he made to keep her silence.
HE’S the one responsible for this whole mess. He was technically the adult at the time and not only SHOULD have known better but DID know better. No one can claim to not have figured that one out.
“No replies. “
Fancy that......
I would. You said *No* and he could have too.
Getting in a hot tub that he had to go out and rent showed intent and planning. It was no spur of the moment thing.
Passion of the moment is one thing. Premeditated is another altogether.
>>I would. You said *No* and he could have too. <<
Yep. I agree. But the only perfect man was hung on a tree a little over 2,000 years ago.
We are all tempted in different ways. My first wife of 20 years was a cold fish. If this had happened to me late in that relationship it is possible I would have responded “differently”. I would like to hope I wouldn’t but, being a man, I know the heart of man.
Yep, power corrupts and even more so as long as power is sought. Disgusting.
From Eric Knight:
"You've freely printed Cheryl Maher's statement online without any fact-checking. Please consider posting my statement as well:
Kevin Garn did not, to my knowledge, ever try to rationalize or justify his behavior with Cheryl. Cheryl has told me he had gone through some sort of repentance process with his Bishop at the time, apparently on his own initiative. Until 2002, Cheryl never indicated to him that she believed he bore any responsibility for her subsequent life choices, and she remained friendly with the family until a counselor suggested in 2002 that the hot tub incident amounted to sexual abuse. Prior to that Mr Garn had given her some money at a time when she was struggling financially, as a family friend.
In 2002, while working with the counselor, Cheryl first told me the details of her relationship with Mr. Garn. Initially her story pretty much matched what Mr. Garn has stated publicly, other than her suspicion that there may have been one other girl. Subsequently, over time her story has evolved to include increasingly sensational 'recovered memories', and she has been talking for years about writing a book more or less based on her life. She has consistently demonstrated difficulty differentiating reality from fiction.
When Cheryl learned in 2002 that Mr Garn was running for the U.S. House of Representatives, she and her sister became increasingly agitated, insisting that he had never fully made amends to her and therefore hadn't appropriately repented. They began calling various attorneys and prosecutors, trying to find out whether or not legal action against him might be possible. Eventually they spoke with a reporter, who subsequently contacted Mr. Garn about five days before the primary election. Mr Garn called Cheryl, and when he learned that she was now claiming to have been so severely traumatized by him he and his wife dropped the campaign and flew to NH, where the four of us sat down with our Bishop. The discussion seemed to be sincere and heartfelt on all sides, and there were tears and hugs all around. Cheryl was appreciative and reassured Mr. Garn that her 'healing' was complete. Mr Garn lost the primary election, Cheryl declined to pursue the press or any potential legal action further; because it was no longer likely to be a significant news story and there were no corroborating witnesses, the reporter dropped the story.
Cheryl's sister continued to agitate, saying that because Mr. Garn was a wealthy man and could affored to pay, he owed Cheryl something to make restitution for all of the trauma and pain she was now attributing to her interactions with him as a teen. I was very uncomfortable with this, but tried to be a supportive husband and indicated that if she thought it would actually he helpful, she should talk to him. About a month later, Cheryl contacted Mr Garn asking for money to help make his restitution complete; there was never any suggestion of 'hush money'. He offered her $20,000, and after discussing it with her sister she requested $150,000, which suprised him but which he did agree to pay if she agreed to never mention it again to anyone. Her claims that I was pressing for more money are uncategorically false, and are an indication of how she is trying to draw me into the story. She has repeatedly swung from acknowledging this fact back to vilifying and blaming him; two years ago she told me that she "should have held out for a million".
Even when she was excommunicated, Cheryl continued to attend church for a few months and even described her excommunication as "The most loving process she could imagine." Over time, as she has suffered the consequences of her decisions, she has increasingly looked for scapegoats to blame for her failures and misery - including the LDS church, myself, and Mr. Garn. Her stories have continued to change as needed to accomodate her shifting world views, apparently attempting to justify her own behavior and make her out in her own mind and with her social group in AA to be the 'strong woman, overcoming her victimization'.
Cheryl has been vindictively trying to hurt me and my family for the last two years, after having repeatedly threatened to 'destroy me' if I didn't give her everything she wanted in the divorce and subsequent custody disputes. I have not been willing to comply with such blatant blackmail attempts because taking care of my children has been more important to me than having any secrets, and her efforts have fallen flat - I have plenty of faults and have not been perfect, and have been willing to sacrifice my privacy and reputation if it's what is needed to do what seems right. She has made accusations (ranging from distortions to gross fabrications) to the police, mental health professionals, officers of the courts, and state social workers; after appropriate investigations all have dismissed her allegations, which have continued to evolve and become increasingly spectacular as time has passed. She claims to do all of these things from the purest of motives, but those who know 'both sides of the story' know better; the only people who support her side of the story are those who only hear her side of the story and/or have a shared agenda. Other than a couple of family members with similar issues, no one who has known both of us and our situation validates her views.
Cheryl Maher has a long history of mental illness, with behavioral issues predating her involvement with Kevin Garn. It was suggested by a psychiatrist in 1993 that she might have bipolar disorder, and she was officially given that diagnosis when she was admitted to a psychiatric hospital in 2001-2002. She didn't like how that psychiatrist treated her, so she changed to another who continued treating her for bipolar disorder. Within the last two years she managed to convince a counselor that she may have been misdiagnosed, and subsequently changed psychiatrists again to find one who would accept her new self-diagnosis of PTSD, which better allows her to claim victimhood status and deny responsibility for herself. Her current behavior is consistent with her past hypomanic to manic episodes, and the 'fifteen minutes of fame' she is being given is leading her to spin more and more out of reality.
In my opinion, Mr Garn has paid for his wrongdoing many times over, and over the last 25 years has been nothing but generous and supportive of Cheryl. She recently spent time with her sister, and when she is with her sister the mental illness issues tend to get dramatically worse; in the last few weeks she has been increasing her threats to 'go public' with various stories and claims against me and the LDS Church. I suspect that those factors, possibly also with hopes of getting money from a book deal after all of the publicity, are driving her current actions - her claims of 'seeking healing', 'trying to help other girls' and doing this for her children don't fit with her actions and other statements as quoted in the press.
It is my hope that the press and public will quickly stop enabling her in these destructive efforts, and will leave the Garn family, our family, and others involved in peace."
Thank you,
Eric Knight
One of the articles over the weekend said of Garn: "...wealthy business owner, who has interests in everything from banks to hotels..."????
What do you mean? Sounds to me like he used it...
(a) Like a stay-out-of-jail monopoly card;
(b) and as a way to keep his name off the registered sex offender list for the rest of his life.
(c) A reputation saver for 8 years
Why, consider attorney fee's alone, $150,000 for (a) and (b) alone would be a bargain.
If he legitimately had the money, this thing is icky, but not all THAT icky. That is about as worked up I can get without knowing more about the situation 25 years ago and what has happened since, regarding him and women to which he is not married.
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.