Listening to the Congressional testimony concerning HGH, Roger Clements used a term seldom heard, misremembering.
Lot of misremembering going on, but Clemens is the one doing it
Will it become the new catch phrase of those accused of sex crimes when describing their victims? In a series of articles, the Pioneer Press has been running, Laura R. was 7 when a 50-year-old man, sexually molested her in the family’s Arden Hills home.
He was convicted and served not only his prison term but completed a 15 year probation too. You might conclude that was the end of the story but it actually is where a new saga begins.
So it came as quite a jolt when, on Dec. 22 – 22 years to the day since cops showed up at her Arden Hills home to investigate the allegations – Laura searched the Internet for the name of her convicted molester. Up came Gary George Vadnais, now 72, as December’s “volunteer of the month” for the Friends of the Mississippi River, a nonprofit conservation agency in St. Paul. The accompanying profile described a man who has “taught countless children the art of chess.”
It also raised many questions in the debate over sex offenders and how society should ”accommodate” them for their transgressions.
What are the lifetime effects of child sex abuse?
Can offenders truly be rehabilitated and integrated successfully back into society, only to be haunted continuously by their pasts?
Are background checks beneficial or harmful?
Is there a perfect balance between ensuring public safety for our most vulnerable citizens – children – while also giving people with criminal records, including sex offenders, a real and fair shot at reintegration?
There will be those who support him and portray him as a possible victim. His predicament may also serve as a rallying cry for those who quote recidivism statistics and want us to believe it is unlikely he or others would re-offend. But, just as he may be on one end of the spectrum, there is the case of James Walter Scott in Jacksonville,Fl. who is on the other.
A 26-year-old sex offender has been arrested on lewdness charges in Nassau County just four days after he was released from state prison.
About 2:30 a.m. Friday a man entered a Fernandina Beach home through an unlocked door, went into a bedroom, disrobed and then got in bed with a girl younger than 16 years old, according to the Fernandina Beach Police Department. The girl awoke and resisted the man, who fled on foot, leaving some clothing behind, police said.
Is his victim also just misremembering?
Rubén Rosario, Pioneer Press tells Laura’s Story
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