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Pastimes : Don't Ask Rambi -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Thomas C. White who wrote (9887)	4/16/1998 10:11:00 PM
From: Grainne	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 71178

Thomas, I think maybe you are misunderstanding me. I definitely think Le Tourneau's actions constitute a crime, and while I have not stayed current on changes in the European laws about pedophilia, I think they should be severe everywhere. Obviously, there is a huge difference between a pedophile ring which kills little girls, and when it is nonviolent and occurs with a sexually mature child who is participating (seemingly) voluntarily. If Le Tourneau were a classic pedophile, it seems she would have serially sexually abused at least several students, and in that case I would support a very long prison term. In this case, however, what we have is more like obsessive behavior with one child, and I am simply questioning whether she needs to be in prison, or could be treated in a mental institution and then released, with her medication monitored. Are you aware of the ankle bracelet programs, where people cannot go within a certain distance of victims they have domestically abused, for example? The concept does not always work, but since this crime is nonviolent, I think it would be worth a try. America incarcerates a larger percentage of its population than any other country, and if you have never lived or visited anywhere else, I suppose it would seem normal. I just think we should explore some alternatives, that is all. I read Irish newspapers, and many criminals get to go home for Christmas for example. Of course, very violent criminals do not, but many people are in prison here and there for nonviolent crimes. In America, we seem to have criminalized drug addiction, for example, at a huge cost, and maybe the money could be better spent for treatment.