Editorial: Pedophiles in our midst
Published: September 25, 2009
Thursday’s front page revealed some extraordinary things about our community, none of which we’d be proud to shout from the rooftops.
Instead, it provides a jarring reminder that our corner of Alabama may seem quaint, but beneath a veneer of civility lurks the same sort of malignancies that plague communities across the nation.
Two stories, one below the other, tell us things many residents may not have wanted to know:
“Teen sentenced to 40 years for rape of girl, 3,” and
“Man gets 34 years for sodomizing 6-year-old boy.”
These are unthinkable crimes perpetrated by predators who need psychological treatment but will likely never be “cured.” They’re the sorts of things that happen somewhere else, not in our own community.
That’s not to say that a child molester lurks in every shadow, although people who work in the system will assure you that the physical and sexual abuse of children is far more common than one might imagine.
Parents should not need a reason to be mindful of who is around their children. But in case they do, Timothy Corlee and David Lee Flowers provide two cautionary tales.
On a brighter note, it’s late September and our city has just had its first murder of the year. That’s unusual; while 2008 saw only three murders, nine people were murdered in Dothan in 2006, and eight were slain in 2005 and 2007.
If the trend continues, the city’s murder rate may continue its slide.
Let’s work to make the child abuse figures drop as well.
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Reader Reactions
People say rape, etc. is about power & not about sex. The “weapon” used is a sexual one, no matter what the real motive is. For those convicted of such crimes taking away that weapon via castration might be the way to go; it may make others think twice before they act.
I will admit I don’t know what to do with the female offenders but since most of the perps in this type of crime are males we can begin there.
Lets not forget the former laywer allegedly caught with the child porn- tons and tons of it- this is much more profuse than people choose to believe- let me know what I can do to help stop this and I will be on the front lines of the battle.
Let’s don’t forget the teachers that seduce students. These sex crimes are just as bad, however, our new School Board Chairman, Harry Wayne Parrish, does not think so.
Maybe he needs to set up a Web Site that will automatically send letters to defend sex offenders.
My comment in an entry before the election concerning “repeat offenders” was not accepted very well by some readers. But I see this letter states a similar statement “will likely never be cured.“ Seems like the writer of this letter has also spoken with investigators that handle sex offenses!
Put them away for good! If the punishment is severe enough maybe the offenders will get the message!
As much as Pinget can rattle my cage with some of his opinions, i can agree with him on this point.
There has been an dramatic increase in these cases and it has been a trend that started some time back.
And i am puzzled by the gasps that people can still summon when they read yet another story about a man or woman being arrested for this.
oh, really? come now. it has become weekly. just waiting for a daily column here in the Eagle for a list who finally got arrested.
I know that it is a ridiculous notion to think i can move away from here to some place that lacks pedophiles, but let’s face it; if i were an outsider and did just a little research looking for a town to live in, the local papers would not convince me to live here.
too darn many in the news for me to feel safe about bringing my kids here.
Human beings are the same no matter where they live. The editor’s continuing belief, stated previously in other columns of this nature, that “They’re the sorts of things that happen somewhere else, not in our own community”, displays a disturbing level of naivete. Especially in the South, where sexuality is not handled in a healthy way, sexual crimes are not surprising. The only way to have a crime-free city would be to have a people-free ghost town.
News editor Christie Kulavich guides you to fun events happening in the Wiregrass.
Sports writer Drew Champlin writes about the latest sports news from Troy University.
Reporters Lance Griffin and Debbie Ingram write about latest news released on the country music development planned for Houston County.
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