I suppose that when you are the son of the President of the Arizona Senate, you can actually get away with anything...this just makes me SICK and to think that this guy wants to serve a mission, makes me very upset. I wonder how the Church would handle this case?
QUOTE |
State Sen. Ken Bennett's 18-year-old son, Clifton, along with 19-year-old Kyle Wheeler have admitted to forcing broomsticks and flashlights into the rectums of 18 boys (through their clothing) during a youth camp last summer. The two young men said that it was part of a hazing ritual. The Yavapai County prosecutor's office has decided that the attacks are not sexual assaults, and has dropped 35 of 36 original charges against Clifton Bennett, producing one of the sweetheart deals of our relatively new century. Wheeler's case was reduced to two charges. The parents of the boys who were abused by Clifton Bennett and Wheeler might disagree. The victims were between 11 and 14 years old. A number of them supposedly have had physical and psychological trouble since the assaults. Lawyers for Clifton Bennett said that he was an honor student and active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They said that he had plans to go on a mission in September. In a letter to the court they actually wrote, "A felony conviction for assault will make his desire to complete his mission impossible." Again, some of you might find it shocking that a "felony conviction" could make such a thing impossible but that having assaulted 18 boys would not. |
QUOTE |
On January 23, 2006, Bennett's 18-year-old son Clifton Bennett (the youngest of Bennett's three children), was arrested and later charged with 18 counts of aggravated assault and 18 counts of kidnapping. Bennett admitted that while volunteering as a junior camp counsellor the previous summer, he and a friend had assaulted 18 boys at the camp ranging in age from 11 to 16 years with an activity he called "brooming." He said that he intended to humiliate the boys by forcing them to line up and bend over, holding them against their will, and prodding their clothed anuses with broomsticks and flashlight handles. Clif Bennett also told the judge that serving jailtime for a felony would prevent his plans to serve as an LDS missionary overseas. Prosecutors considered filing charges of sexual assault but ultimately accepted a plea bargain of one felony count of aggravated assault, allowing him the possibility of avoiding imprisonment. Several parents of victims were unhappy with the deal, blaming its leniency on undue influence from his powerful father. [b]On May 12, 2006, Clifton Bennett was sentenced to 30 days in jail (which he began serving as of June 1, 2006), 3 years probation and 200 hours of community service. In addition, the conviction was not classified as a felony and in the event that Clifton obeys the terms of probation will be reduced to a misdemeanor and erased after 3 years. |
I can't believe that anyone who ever committed such an offense would be considered for a mission. But it won't surprise me a bit when he does serve one. After all, his father is a very important, powerful man.
QUOTE |
I can't believe that anyone who ever committed such an offense would be considered for a mission. |
The thing is, my son did something that I consider nowhere near as bad, and he would have to go through an unbelievable amount of stuff in order to go on a mission. You know, we "raised the bar". Now, if he tries to get everything in order, he will have to wait for 2 to 3 years before it would even be possible.
This boy, from the story, hurt a lot of people, very badly. They said it was deemed "not a sexual crime", but if there wasn't an element of homosexuality to it, it wouldn't be anywhere near as bad an assault. The boys wouldn't be anywhere near as damaged as they are.
If I had done something like that, I would have been excommunicated. This guy thinks that he will still go on a mission.
Two crimes with a Mormon connection on them. The first case is about this guy accused of raping a girl he met on a LDS single site. The interesting thing about this case is that the girl admitted feeling uncomfortable in the presence of the guy, yet she continued seeing him despites that fact. Also when her roomate saw both of them (the victim and the supposed perpetrator) leaving a room, she did not see or heard anything unusual. It was in the roomate's car when the girl confessed to her what happened. They ALL (Girl, roomate and perpetrator) went to a Church function after the alleged "rape". Makes sense to you?
QUOTE |
A man went on trial at 4th district court Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2007, for the alleged rape of a young lady he met on an LDS dating site. Sergio Bolivar Herrera, 34, met the 21-year-old victim online in June of 2005 and the two immediately starting seeing each other. Despite several occurrences in which the victim testified to feeling uncomfortable, her and Herrera's relationship continued to progress. On July 4th , 2005, after conversing with Herrera in her bedroom, Herrera followed the victiminto the bathroom where he allegedly raped her. The opening arguments and testimonies from the victim, her roommate and the resident physician who conducted the physical exam were heard by an eight person jury. Judge Steven L. Hansen presided over the trial. Erin Spung, 26, who was the victim's roommate at the time, testified to coming home and seeing the victim and Herrera walk out from the back room, but said she did not hear any noise from them before that time. She said that the victim did not show any emotions until the she was with her alone in the car. It was then that the victim began to cry and divulged her account of what had happened. The victim, Spung and Herrera all proceeded to a church function where Spung confronted Herrera and asked him to leave. Spung and the victim then headed back home, where they called the Orem City Police Department.... |
QUOTE |
PORTLAND (Reuters) - Two grown brothers sued the Mormon Church and the Boy Scouts of America on Monday, claiming they were sexually molested as children by a man who served as a Scout leader and church teacher. The brothers, who are in their early 30s and are identified only by initials in the $6.5 million lawsuit, say they have suffered "severe debilitating physical, mental and emotional injury." The suit, filed in the Oregon state circuit court in Multnomah County, claims the men were molested as boys in the early 1980s by Timur Dykes, a home teacher for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints -- the formal name of the Mormon Church -- and a Boy Scout leader. The church denied any responsibility and said it does not tolerate child abuse. The Boy Scouts had no immediate comment. Dykes, who has been previously convicted of sodomy and sex abuse and is also known by the last name Van Dykes, is listed on a Multnomah County Web site of registered sex offenders. The site says he targets infant males and boys 7 to 15 years old. According to the lawsuit, Dykes used his positions with the church and Boy Scouts to gain the trust of the boys and "groom" them for sex abuse. Each brother is seeking $3.25 million in damages. One brother accuses Dykes of molesting him from 1983 to 1985, the other says he was abused only once. One was born in 1972 and the other 1973... |
Sad, so sad. This happened during his mission!
QUOTE |
A Rexburg missionary who was accused of sexually abusing three people in 2005, while on a mission, has been sued. Jason Stark spent two years in Kentucky and Indiana for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Last February, he was charged in Lee County, Kentucky, with two counts of sodomy and one count of attempted sodomy. He is scheduled for trial July 16th. The church says Stark has been released from his missionary duties pending the outcome of the trial. |
I have a hard time understanding why this man would be on a mission. I think I understand that it was for "appearances" sake, but how could someone so unworthy continue to serve a mission while committing these crimes? Though I know these cases are rare, even a few bad apples really make the Church look bad to those who don't know very much about it.
He is a former Bishop, so we can say he still one. He was a High Councilor in a Single's Ward when the police first interviewed him. What he did? Oh, just rode snowmobiles in the nude and used a sauna in the nude with two 15 years old boys and take them to his cabin and no, he did not touch them (based on his account and the kid's accounts) he just poked the boys repeatedly with a foot-long "wooden penis".
QUOTE |
A former LDS Church bishop and retired Mountain Crest High School teacher pleaded guilty to two counts of lewdness Wednesday. Richard Lamb, a 62-year-old Hyde Park man, pleaded guilty to two of the five misdemeanor charges that arose from allegations that he engaged in inappropriate activities last year when he took two 15-year-old boys to his cabin near Hardware Ranch. According to court documents, Lamb and the victims rode snowmobiles in the nude and used a sauna in the nude. The lewdness charge involved Lamb 'showering ... and standing in close proximity to the young men and drying off," Deputy Cache County Attorney Barbara Lachmar said. During an Aug. 24 interview with detectives, however, Lamb said he didn't feel the alleged incident was anything that "made anyone feel uncomfortable." Lamb also allegedly poked the boys repeatedly with a foot-long "wooden penis," Lachmar said. According to Sheriff's reports, both Lamb and the victims said that Lamb did not touch the boys inappropriately during the cabin trip, which happened between January and May of 2006. A jury trial was set for March, but attorneys in the case were able to reach a plea agreement prior to Wednesday's final pre-trial date. In a deal with prosecutors, Lamb did not receive jail time and could have the charges dismissed upon successful completion of his plea in abeyance terms. As part of the agreement, Lamb would have to undergo a psychosexual evaluation and complete recommended treatment. He was also ordered to avoid unsupervised contact with children under the age of 18, and to write letters of apology to the victims. |