From the AP story:
A judge ignored a former teacher’s sobbing pleas for mercy Friday and sentenced her to seven years in prison on charges that she sent explicit photos to a young teenager while on probation for having sex with him.
[...]
“You have done everything except show this court that you wanted to rehabilitate yourself,” Warren County Circuit Judge Bart Stanley said. He revoked Rogers’ probation and ordered her to serve the rest of a seven-year prison sentence that had been largely suspended.
Officers led Rogers away after she stood before the judge handcuffed and shackled. She cried as she asked for mercy and apologized to her family, the teen’s family, her relatives and friends.
“I have humiliated myself. What I did was wrong,” Rogers said. “I am willing to do anything to rehabilitate myself.”
[...]
A grand jury issued a new indictment against Rogers last week charging her with four counts of exploiting a minor. The judge set a Nov. 22 arraignment on those charges.
Rogers’ mother asked the judge for leniency in a letter, saying a bad marriage had destabilized her daughter emotionally.
“No one would have done that if they were of normal mind,” Karen Rogers wrote in the letter, obtained Friday by The Associated Press.
She said her daughter’s ex-husband, Chris Turner, had subjected her to “mental, verbal and emotional abuse” and threatened to kill her. Turner’s attorney Mike Galligan called the letter “the statements of a desperate mother.”
It’s obvious that Rogers has some sort of mental disorder, and she certainly deserves some sort of punishment after violating her parole, but in my opinion seven years is ridiculous. What does this prove exactly? She’s not going to be rehabilitated in prison, and she obviously needs some sort of mental treatment program.
In the end what would be cheaper and more effective? Prison, or medication and counseling? It seems fairly obvious to me.
I’m guessing the judge felt like he had no choice, what with this case getting so much publicity and all. It also doesn’t help that Tennessee (and the South in general) is probably one of the more unforgiving states when it comes to any case involving sex.
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Chad Castagana 07.16.06 at 10:40 pm
Pamela Rogers shoild get some prison time
(she is in jail now) for violating her parole .
The issue here is trust, she cannot be trusted to keep away from this teenage boy .
Beyond that, she is a nitwit !
She displays an almost juvenile mentality when getting caught; first smugness, then when she realizes she is going to due some hard time, she cries like a little kid that’s about to get spanked !
She can get, and should receive psychiatric treatment in prison . .
R. Wright 07.17.06 at 1:43 pm
Many southern do have tougher penalties on many offenses such as sex crimes, drug offenses, etc. However, she was given a very light sentence initially. All she had to do was control herself. She was actually in counseling. Sexual addictions are a lot like drug addictions. Treatment is one step at a time and only works when the patient admits they have a problem and wants to be cured.
Although,not a strong as what a man would haverecieved, the punishment fits.
Erin Hawthorne 11.13.06 at 8:30 am
There is a message posted above by Chad Castagana. Chad Castagana is the rightwing lunatic who sent death threats to David Letterman, Jon Stewart, Nancy Pelosi, and other “evil doers” who he deemed anti-American (!) because they didn’t blindly support & worship George Bush and the rightwing. He is now behind bars for his terrorist activities. With that in mind, re-read his post accusing Rogers of being a “nitwit” with a ” juvenile mentality” who deserves “hard time” and “psychiatric treatment in prison”.
Priceless!
Aylios 11.13.06 at 9:16 am
The word Hypocrite says it all about Mr. Castagana I guess. I landed here via olbywatch and being a sucker for kinky stuff ended up reading the whole article.
Having read it, I wonder what kind of sentence a male sex offender would get for similar misconduct? Seven years does seem a lot. On the other hand, I can’t help but wonder if a male offender who had had sex with a child would even be out on parole …
Is this a case of one law for the ladies, another law for the gents or is this par for the course for both sides?
Mark 11.13.06 at 1:51 pm
Chad Castagana should get the hard time - sending white powder through the US Mail is a terrorist activity. No psychiatric treatment for this jerk! He should spend some years at Guantanamo Bay and find out what his cause is all about.
BWAHAHAHAHA 11.13.06 at 6:35 pm
BWAHAHAHAHAHA I wonder if Chad cried like a baby about to get a spanking when the feds busted his terrorist ass. Nice work, Chad! Have fun at Club Gitmo!