A Shock to My System
On Monday I was in court all afternoon. I sat with a friend of mine as we waited for a sentence to be handed down from a judge. We both were there for one older man. He has done some bad things and in particular he has breached conditions that were set up for him to be guided by in our community. He eventually found out that he will be staying in jail a while longer. For that I am thankful. It is justice.
The shock to my system came not from this particular case, but rather from the other cases that were being dealt with over the two hours prior to my friend’s case. We sat listening to all the stories that went through the court that afternoon. It was Youth Court Day – Monday.
The halls were jammed with teens of all kinds. There are innocent looking teens that are well dressed, shy looking and eyes darting as they look for some one that they know. Mixed with that are the shifty, cocky, and just plain obnoxious teens that will likely be dropping from school soon – if they haven’t already. The emotions I feel as I sit, listen and look is overwhelming. These kids just don’t get it.
In court we listen as the kids are called forward to be addressed by the judge. The clothing speaks accurately of the attitude in many cases. Sloppy and grungy – usually carries with it an attitude that needs some real adjustments – but that hasn’t been done along the way. About half the teens have a parent with them. Another 25% of the group has a social worker/case worker with them and the others have no one.
The sign at the court entrance instructs everyone to take out their gum and take off there caps. A couple of times the judge stopped to instruct a teen to take out their gum as they stood to be addressed. When someone in the court whispered the judged paused and asked who was talking. One girl giggled and the judge asked what was funny and who was it that was laughing. There was no room for hilarity in this court.
The man that I consider my friend, and that I was there for, is over 70 years old. He has committed crimes since the mid 1940s – the last century. There have been many crimes and a variety. However the worst, in most of the community’s mindset, is the ones that he committed against children. This man is a pedophile. The community will not tolerate his kind of crime/sin against children. He fits the classic, dirty old man kind of characterization. You know the horrible pedophilic mindset that seeks to groom his relationship with children. We all hate that image and are repulsed when thinking of his kind.
The shock to my system was not the pedophile that I consider to be a friend and that has breached his conditions. The shock came on Monday when I listened to three cases that afternoon of children that have done the same kind of thing. They are identified as pedophiles now at 12, 15, & 18 years old. They don’t know each other and they come from very different homes and circumstances. But all of them have molested other children younger than themselves. In one case the teen was charged with molesting three children.
Monday afternoon was a snap shot of life in 2006. He in my picture was a man that had molested his first victims in the 1940s – last century! It was over 60 years ago – he was around 12 years old. In the picture, of Monday afternoon, was his identical counterpart – 60+ years later – for the SAME THING. But not just one in this “picture frame” – but three more!!!!
That is shocking for me. And for myself – as a minister – I deal with all sorts of adult criminals as they seek to get their lives together. Here is a brand new group that is being trained up by a sick family and/or an even sicker society that has produced new pedophiles.
YES – we, as a society, produced them. WE are responsible. And we need to take responsibility – but haven’t. We instead BLAME the dirty old man that is the miserable pedophile hurting our children. That is so wrong. He didn’t wake up one morning and say, “I think I will try on Pedophilia as my sexual preference.” Something happened to him along the way and it was very sad.
The 70+ year old man was rapped by another older teenager when he was about 10. That is the hard part of the story for me. Whatever happened in his story, whoever should have been there for him, wasn’t. And the rest is 60+ years of hurting others has a disgusted community that feels a loathing for him at the end of his life.
It is shocking to think that the three boys, in court Monday, have produced at least 5 more victims of this horrible crime. When you place the grid of experience of the 70+ year old man, my friend, over their potential lives – these three have produced 5 victims (that they were charged for) – who in turn could produce three more each- and the next level produce another 3 more each...and so one. Put that number over 60 years of living and you will not be able to count the number of people that are hurt and hurting.
What is shocking is that pedophilia is not an old man’s crime. That is when they get caught – or re-caught. But the cycle often starts when they are young.
Who produces a pedophile is the bigger question? The community is a good start for an answer. We understand that when we look at the gun violence in the big city among gangs of teens and youth. Without the proper parenting guidelines and discipline we see the violence. Is pedophilia under a similar kind of cloud of a community lacking in what it should do? Who is there to support the family, the parents and the children? Not many I am afraid. Not many.
Are you shocked enough to get involved? Would you be willing to do something to help arrest this process of producing sick people? Would you not only pray – but maybe get involved and say enough is enough – then pitch in and do something to help a family in distress – or a teen that could be redirected?
I am.
(Written by Murray Lincoln, Pastor of Northview Pentecostal Church - Peterborough, Ontario)
The shock to my system came not from this particular case, but rather from the other cases that were being dealt with over the two hours prior to my friend’s case. We sat listening to all the stories that went through the court that afternoon. It was Youth Court Day – Monday.
The halls were jammed with teens of all kinds. There are innocent looking teens that are well dressed, shy looking and eyes darting as they look for some one that they know. Mixed with that are the shifty, cocky, and just plain obnoxious teens that will likely be dropping from school soon – if they haven’t already. The emotions I feel as I sit, listen and look is overwhelming. These kids just don’t get it.
In court we listen as the kids are called forward to be addressed by the judge. The clothing speaks accurately of the attitude in many cases. Sloppy and grungy – usually carries with it an attitude that needs some real adjustments – but that hasn’t been done along the way. About half the teens have a parent with them. Another 25% of the group has a social worker/case worker with them and the others have no one.
The sign at the court entrance instructs everyone to take out their gum and take off there caps. A couple of times the judge stopped to instruct a teen to take out their gum as they stood to be addressed. When someone in the court whispered the judged paused and asked who was talking. One girl giggled and the judge asked what was funny and who was it that was laughing. There was no room for hilarity in this court.
The man that I consider my friend, and that I was there for, is over 70 years old. He has committed crimes since the mid 1940s – the last century. There have been many crimes and a variety. However the worst, in most of the community’s mindset, is the ones that he committed against children. This man is a pedophile. The community will not tolerate his kind of crime/sin against children. He fits the classic, dirty old man kind of characterization. You know the horrible pedophilic mindset that seeks to groom his relationship with children. We all hate that image and are repulsed when thinking of his kind.
The shock to my system was not the pedophile that I consider to be a friend and that has breached his conditions. The shock came on Monday when I listened to three cases that afternoon of children that have done the same kind of thing. They are identified as pedophiles now at 12, 15, & 18 years old. They don’t know each other and they come from very different homes and circumstances. But all of them have molested other children younger than themselves. In one case the teen was charged with molesting three children.
Monday afternoon was a snap shot of life in 2006. He in my picture was a man that had molested his first victims in the 1940s – last century! It was over 60 years ago – he was around 12 years old. In the picture, of Monday afternoon, was his identical counterpart – 60+ years later – for the SAME THING. But not just one in this “picture frame” – but three more!!!!
That is shocking for me. And for myself – as a minister – I deal with all sorts of adult criminals as they seek to get their lives together. Here is a brand new group that is being trained up by a sick family and/or an even sicker society that has produced new pedophiles.
YES – we, as a society, produced them. WE are responsible. And we need to take responsibility – but haven’t. We instead BLAME the dirty old man that is the miserable pedophile hurting our children. That is so wrong. He didn’t wake up one morning and say, “I think I will try on Pedophilia as my sexual preference.” Something happened to him along the way and it was very sad.
The 70+ year old man was rapped by another older teenager when he was about 10. That is the hard part of the story for me. Whatever happened in his story, whoever should have been there for him, wasn’t. And the rest is 60+ years of hurting others has a disgusted community that feels a loathing for him at the end of his life.
It is shocking to think that the three boys, in court Monday, have produced at least 5 more victims of this horrible crime. When you place the grid of experience of the 70+ year old man, my friend, over their potential lives – these three have produced 5 victims (that they were charged for) – who in turn could produce three more each- and the next level produce another 3 more each...and so one. Put that number over 60 years of living and you will not be able to count the number of people that are hurt and hurting.
What is shocking is that pedophilia is not an old man’s crime. That is when they get caught – or re-caught. But the cycle often starts when they are young.
Who produces a pedophile is the bigger question? The community is a good start for an answer. We understand that when we look at the gun violence in the big city among gangs of teens and youth. Without the proper parenting guidelines and discipline we see the violence. Is pedophilia under a similar kind of cloud of a community lacking in what it should do? Who is there to support the family, the parents and the children? Not many I am afraid. Not many.
Are you shocked enough to get involved? Would you be willing to do something to help arrest this process of producing sick people? Would you not only pray – but maybe get involved and say enough is enough – then pitch in and do something to help a family in distress – or a teen that could be redirected?
I am.
(Written by Murray Lincoln, Pastor of Northview Pentecostal Church - Peterborough, Ontario)
posted by Murray Lincoln at
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
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