Published: June 15, 2009 11:43 am      

Not even animals

Animals don’t even treat their young like this. In fact, animals will kill to protect their young. Then there are the humans, who insist they are not animals. But yet, what some humans do is disgusting — a gross violation of innocence and trust.

What is it? Child molestation, child rape, child pornography.

These young, small humans trust adults to protect them and bring them up in life to become successful, healthy and functioning adults. That is the responsibility of the prior generation.

So why — how — do children so often become the victims of the degrading betrayal aforementioned?

Such as in the case of a 5-year-old girl who was raped repeatedly during the summer of 2008 when she was only 4 years old. Her brother, who was 5 at the time, was reportedly forced to watch by the rapist, David Earls.

Oddly enough, Earls, 64, entered a plea of no contest to charges of raping and sodomizing the girl. He was only sentenced to serve one year of a 20-year sentence. What is even more unbelievable is the judge in the case, Thomas Bartheld, recommended Earls receive credit for time served — leaving Earls with only three more months behind bars. In articles by The McAlester News-Capital, the district attorney in the case, Jim Bob Miller, said everyone involved in the case agreed to the plea bargain because they were afraid Earls would go free.

Somewhere, something went wrong — several times. Earls was trusted with being around these children and helping to keep them safe. He betrayed that trust.

Earls was trusted to maintain and protect their innocence. Again, he grossly violated their innocence. And it doesn’t stop there.

The Oklahoma justice system was entrusted with punishing these horrible atrocities. The Oklahoma justice system failed the children.

This young girl is physically, emotionally and mentally scarred for the rest of her life.

Earls may have only been given three years to live, but the 5 year old still has many, many years left in her lifetime.

Some are calling for the removal of the judge in the case, as well as the district attorney. The attorney general’s office is looking into the case.

This must be corrected. The younger generation and the ones to come cannot be failed as these children have been failed.