I generally prefer to link to articles that I discuss, but I cannot find a copy of this one anywhere except the dead tree labeled today’s Morning Call. It is moderately short, so I will simply reproduce it here. The headline is “Tamaqua man gets 6-12 years in prison in rape of girl, 9″.
A Tamaqua man who admitted raping a 9-year-old girl has been sentenced to at least six years in prison, then five more under close supervision.
Michael Golden, 33, who told police he had hit the girl on previous occasions and was aroused by violence, was sentenced Thursday by Schuylkill County Judge Jacqueline L. Russell.
Golden pleaded guilty Nov. 20 to rape and related charges.
Russell sentenced him to six to 12 years in state prison on a charge of rape of a child, five to 10 years for rape, six to 12 months for statutory sexual assault and one to 12 months for indecent and simple assault. All the terms are concurrent. he also got five years probation, to be served after release, for terroristic threats.
Golden will also have to perform 110 hours of community service and register with state police as a sexual predator under Megan’s Law.
According to an arrest affidavit and court testimony, Golden admitted raping the girl, choking her and telling her he would kill her.
Golden admitted he assaulted the girl Oct. 2 and Oct. 13, 2006. According to the affidavit filed by Tamaqua Patrolman Charles Whitehead, Golden told the girl he was doing “what parents do to make babies.”
The girl told police she “began to cry and scream that it hurt.”
Golden initially denied the accusations, but police say in the affidavit the girl was “graphic” in her description of what happened. Golden confessed after taking a polygraph test, saying he first denied the assault because he was “remorseful.”
Let’s see if I have this right. The guy assaulted a young girl several times, then raped her on two separate occasions (and we mean the forcible, violent form of rape, not consensual sex defined by law to be rape, although that would also be reprehensible at an age of 9). Then he threatens to kill her. The article does not make it explicit, but I would imagine the threat was designed to prevent her from telling anyone about the rape.
I have written previously to encourage decriminalization and lighter sentences for some nonviolent crimes, but if there is any case where a person needs to be locked up away from potential victims for the rest of their lives, this is one of them. A long probation period and registration under Megan’s Law help a bit, but the thought that this guy could be out of prison in 6 years, and no later than 12 years, is sickening. In 12 years, it is quite possible that I will have a daughter approaching the age of 9.
There has also been a story in the local news for the last week or so about the fact that several students at Parkland high school took photographs of themselves nude or engaging in sex acts and that these photographs have been widely distributed among people both at the school and elsewhere. In a letter from the Chief Deputy District Attorney for that jurisdiction to the parents of students who were suspected of having the photographs on their cell phones, he mentions that possession of one of the images (examples of child pornography) would be a third-degree felony, for which an adult could be punished by a prison sentence of up to 7 years. Presumably such a harsh sentence would not be given for a single self-shot image of a topless 17 year old, and such punishment is certainly needed for those who encourage the exploitation and assault of young children by providing a market, but it seems absurd that a person who received one of these photos could conceivably be punished more than the violent abuser described above.
According to my reading of Chapter 3, Part A of the 2005 Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the most egregious offense (forcible sexual assault of a person less than 12 years of age) is one of level 38. On the Sentence Table, a person with minimal criminal history who is convicted of such a crime should be sentenced to 235-293 months in prison (roughly 20-24 years). Furthermore, it sounds like there were rapes on two separate days, so I would expect consecutive sentences for the two acts. I am not a law expert, just a citizen armed with Google. Perhaps the sentencing guidelines do not apply or I am missing some vital information, but this suggested sentence seems much more reasonable than the one that was imposed in this case.