Support Your Local Police

It turns out that hundreds of police officers have sexually abused minors, and generally there is no jail time, and often they keep their jobs, though in the case of Gauley Bridge, West Virginia police chief Larry Clay, we saw a conviction and a a loss of his badge.  The sentencing has been repeatedly delayed, but he continues to be held in the county jail)

They served in police departments big and small. They were new recruits and seasoned veterans, patrol officers and chiefs of police. They understood the power of their guns and badges. In many cases, they used that very power to find and silence their victims.

A Washington Post investigation has found that over the past two decades, hundreds of law enforcement officers in the United States have sexually abused children while officials at every level of the criminal justice system have failed to protect kids, punish abusers and prevent additional crimes.

Police and sheriff’s departments have enabled predators by botching background checks, ignoring red flags and mishandling investigations. Accused cops have used their knowledge of the legal system to stall cases, get charges lowered or evade convictions. Prosecutors have given generous plea deals to officers who admitted to raping and groping minors. Judges have allowed many convicted officers to avoid prison time.

………

Cases like these are not unique. The Post identified at least 1,800 state and local law enforcement officers who were charged with crimes involving child sexual abuse from 2005 through 2022.

The Post also conducted an exclusive analysis of the nation’s most comprehensive database of police arrests.

The Post found that 1 in 10 of those officers were charged with a crime involving child sexual abuse.

………

The consequences: Nearly 40 percent of convicted officers avoided prison sentences. 

Unless and until police misconduct is handled at least as aggressively as it is with the general populace, nothing will change.

I would argue that this should be handled more severely, because officers are acting with the real or implied force of the state behind them, and they know the law.  (Kind of a requirement for the job)

You will not train your way out of this, but you might jail your way out of it.