Posted on 04/14/2010 8:44:06 PM PDT by llevrok
ELKO, Nev. — A Twin Falls woman convicted of forcing a 13-year-old boy to touch her breasts was sentenced Monday to life in prison.
Michelle Lyn Taylor, 34, was convicted of lewdness with a minor under 14 in November after a week-long trial in Elko County, Nev., District Judge Mike Memeo’s courtroom.
With the conviction, Taylor faced a mandatory life sentence, and Memeo set parole eligibility after 10 years, the minimum sentence. If released on parole she must register as a sex offender and will be under lifetime supervision.
The district attorney’s office did not offer a plea agreement in the case, said public defender Alina Kilpatrick, who argued the sentence is unconstitutional and doesn’t fit the crime.
“The jury was not allowed to know the potential sentence in this case and the Legislature doesn’t know the facts,” she said, alluding to the minimum sentence set by the Legislature in Nevada Revised Statute.
Kilpatrick said despite the parole eligibility after 10 years, there should be no mistake that it’s a life sentence for Taylor.
“She is getting a greater penalty for having a boy touch her breast than if she killed him,” she said.
After he sentenced her, Memeo said he was bound by state statute to impose the life sentence, but said he isn’t sure why the prosecution chose to charge her under that statute.
District Attorney Gary Woodbury could not be reached for comment.
Taylor, who lived in Jackpot, Nev., at the time of the crime, kissed a friend’s child, forced him to touch her breast and asked him to have sex with her in February 2008.
Taylor claimed she was intoxicated and doesn’t remember what happened that night. She told jurors she roughhoused with the boy, but didn’t force him to touch her inappropriately.
Wow, taxpayers will be footing the bill for decades. I agree with tough laws, but not life in prison. (I believe it’s cruel and unusual to imprison for life, and an abomination).
Something tells me we really don’t wanna know what this woman looks like...
Meh, a life sentence seems fairly harsh, especially since actual killers get less time, particularly those not guilty of first degree murder.
This society needs to get beyond treating sex crimes differently, except in those cases which lead to great violence like forcible rape, serial predation, torture, kidnapping, etc.
Murder, torture, abduction, enslavement, unlawful imprisonment, armed robbery, serious cases of battery, etc are all more egregious crimes and violations of the moral order than the mess of confused humanity that has not sexual boundaries.
Basically, we have finite resources with which to prosecute and house offenders and this does not seem a good use of those resources when have actual murderers and other extremely violent psycho and sociopaths running around.
WOW! that’s harsh.
I will need a picture to decide if she deserves it or not.
Cue for Helen Thomas pic.
When I think of all the child molesters who only get 10 years probation for doing more than just touching some breasts...
ll, you wimp.
“good, tough laws !”
We need a stake upon which to burn the bitch for so heinous a crime as forced, or involuntary breast touching. A stake I tell you.
Rab
Lifetime in jail for forcing a boy to touch her boobs? Come on, I agree that she should go to jail, but I don’t think the crime deserves to be that long.
Not condoning this, but I’m sure she didn’t have to “force” a 13 year old boy to touch her breasts.
This will likely be overturned or reduced on appeal. It is out of proportion to the sentencing guidelines for other felonies of a lesser nature in Nevada.
The possibility of being overturned is brought about by the jury being kept in the dark about the severity of the punishment, which is just absurd.
I’m not in disagreement. I think it’s a tough issue, but also a marginalized one.
For example, there were 3 kids, two girls and a boy, in Mass. who had some sexual relationship, the aproximate ages were like 13 girl, 14 boy, 15 girl. The boy had some relationship with both girls, consentually, and yet when prosecutors charged, they only charged him (It was on appeal for gender discrimination). It’s because MA has no “Romeo and Juliet” laws (laws which protect consentual minors).
I have known of 18-19 year olds with 17 year olds who have the book thrown at them because their parents disaproved. I’m not condoning those acts, but I know that “Sex Offenses” are often used as tools to a political end. ie. “Look how many child molestors we put away.”
I think Molestation and rape and such can be on the order of capital punishment, worthy of execution, but I think laws need to be cleared up, and “fixed” to do what we can to keep them from being misused. This clearly is deplorable, but like others have said, unless this was premeditated grivious murder, she would almost never receive a worse conviction than this.
It’s sad for that teenager, who probably will be able to get over this with time and therapy, if he’s psychologically damaged at all, but not only will she be unable to contribute to society in any meaningful ways for decades, or ever, she is now going to be a further drain on people’s resources. This is ridiculous to me.
Prisions are places for people to wait until trial, or to wait until discipline is pronounced, not places to hold people indefinitely. It’s ridiculous to waste time, resources, and productivity to inflate government to imprison people. Release them, fine them, cane them, put them in a labor camp, execute them, but don’t lock them away forever, that is not right.
Exactly.
A crime is a crime, and there is no disagreement that she should not have done it. However, all crimes are not created equal. Shoplifting is a crime too, and the perp doesn’t have to take anything. However, it doesn’t mean she/he should get lifetime or death penalty for it.
What the hell is this?
Put her on probation or something.This is retarded.
“Meh, a life sentence seems fairly harsh, especially since actual killers get less time, particularly those not guilty of first degree murder.”
I’d even things out by making murder a mandatory life sentence.
Not by letting out a woman who would do that to a boy.
She does not need to be out here with the rest of us.
Give me a break.
It seems unlikely that she had to do more than ask the teen. If there was some actual coercion involved that would be worse.
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