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ACLU, Nation’s Courts Enable Pedophile to Fantasize in City’s Park
Friday, July 18, 2003
By Sam Kastensmidt
In Lafayette, Indiana, a convicted child sex-offender openly admitted to having sexual fantasies about children who were playing in the city’s parks. The offender, whom officials have tagged “John Doe,” told his psychologist and his self-help group that he would often think about having sexual contact with the kids he watched in the park. The man’s former probation officer was made aware of his statements, and the sexual predator was banned from Lafayette’s public parks.
“Parents need to be able to send their kids to a park and know they’re going to be safe, not being window shopped by a predator,” stated Mayor Dave Heath.
With the help of the Indiana Civil Liberties Union, the sex-offender filed suit to challenge the city’s actions. Kenneth J. Falk, of the ICLU’s Indianapolis office, represented Doe in the case. Falk, well-known for his suits against state and local governments, requesting the removal of Ten Commandments plaques, argued that Doe should not have been barred from the city’s parks—because he never acted on his fantasies.
“He had urges. He went into the park. He felt urges toward the kids. He left the park. He was upset with himself… The idea that you could be punished for your thoughts seems to run really far from our view of our protected rights under the First Amendment,” explained Kenneth Falk. This argument did not impress U.S. District Judge Allen Sharp, who ruled in favor of the city.
Falk appealed the judge’s decision, and the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals agreed to hear the case. A three-judge panel issued a majority opinion, which overturned the city’s policy and allowed the pedophile to continue to fantasize about nearby children in the city’s parks.
Judge Ann Claire Williams and Judge Diane P. Wood, both Clinton nominees, ruled against the city’s actions. “Presumably, untold numbers of Lafayette residents wander the city’s parks every day, many of them potentially thinking offensive or objectionable thoughts. [John Doe] may not be punished for merely thinking perverted thoughts about children,” wrote Judge Ann Claire Williams. The two judges believe that before any measures can be taken, he must act on his perversion.
Dissenting Judge Kenneth F. Ripple, appointed by Reagan, wrote a fiery dissent: “He engaged in a sort of psychiatric brinksmanship by placing himself in a situation that increased, substantially, the possibility of his acting on these impulses.” He added, “He went to not one, but two parks in search of children at play, in order to achieve sexual gratification… and consequently became sexually aroused. In short, he engaged not only in thought, but in activity directed toward an illegal and very harmful end.”
The judges were made well aware of John Doe’s prior record. In 1978, this particular sexual predator was arrested for engaging in sexual acts with a young boy. In 1979, it happened again. In 1985, he was caught peeping into a woman’s apartment. In 1986, he engaged in self-gratification in full view of five children. In 1988, he was charged with voyeurism for peeping into an apartment and also with indecent exposure for exposing himself outside a teenage boy’s home. In 1991, he pled guilty to child molestation. Public court records do not indicate the length of any jail sentences that he might have served for his crimes.
Now, he has openly admitted to having sexual fantasies about children. Regardless of his self-awareness, he has continued to subject himself to these tempting environments, and the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has helped to enable him.
Mayor Heath responded to the court’s decision: “I think it hurts our ability to protect our children. That type of conduct shouldn’t be permitted around parks where kids frequent.”
Dr. D. James Kennedy, founder and president of the CENTER FOR RECLAIMING AMERICA, adds, “It just goes to show the state of America’s judiciary. These judges knew that this man left a trail of emotionally scarred children. He has been caught… Not once, not twice, but habitually. Somehow, they have determined that his right to be sexually gratified at the sight of children in a public park is more important than the safety of children.”
Mayor Heath acknowledged that the costs of another appeal would be high, but says, “I think it’s going to be worth whatever it does cost."
Friday, July 18, 2003
By Sam Kastensmidt
In Lafayette, Indiana, a convicted child sex-offender openly admitted to having sexual fantasies about children who were playing in the city’s parks. The offender, whom officials have tagged “John Doe,” told his psychologist and his self-help group that he would often think about having sexual contact with the kids he watched in the park. The man’s former probation officer was made aware of his statements, and the sexual predator was banned from Lafayette’s public parks.
“Parents need to be able to send their kids to a park and know they’re going to be safe, not being window shopped by a predator,” stated Mayor Dave Heath.
With the help of the Indiana Civil Liberties Union, the sex-offender filed suit to challenge the city’s actions. Kenneth J. Falk, of the ICLU’s Indianapolis office, represented Doe in the case. Falk, well-known for his suits against state and local governments, requesting the removal of Ten Commandments plaques, argued that Doe should not have been barred from the city’s parks—because he never acted on his fantasies.
“He had urges. He went into the park. He felt urges toward the kids. He left the park. He was upset with himself… The idea that you could be punished for your thoughts seems to run really far from our view of our protected rights under the First Amendment,” explained Kenneth Falk. This argument did not impress U.S. District Judge Allen Sharp, who ruled in favor of the city.
Falk appealed the judge’s decision, and the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals agreed to hear the case. A three-judge panel issued a majority opinion, which overturned the city’s policy and allowed the pedophile to continue to fantasize about nearby children in the city’s parks.
Judge Ann Claire Williams and Judge Diane P. Wood, both Clinton nominees, ruled against the city’s actions. “Presumably, untold numbers of Lafayette residents wander the city’s parks every day, many of them potentially thinking offensive or objectionable thoughts. [John Doe] may not be punished for merely thinking perverted thoughts about children,” wrote Judge Ann Claire Williams. The two judges believe that before any measures can be taken, he must act on his perversion.
Dissenting Judge Kenneth F. Ripple, appointed by Reagan, wrote a fiery dissent: “He engaged in a sort of psychiatric brinksmanship by placing himself in a situation that increased, substantially, the possibility of his acting on these impulses.” He added, “He went to not one, but two parks in search of children at play, in order to achieve sexual gratification… and consequently became sexually aroused. In short, he engaged not only in thought, but in activity directed toward an illegal and very harmful end.”
The judges were made well aware of John Doe’s prior record. In 1978, this particular sexual predator was arrested for engaging in sexual acts with a young boy. In 1979, it happened again. In 1985, he was caught peeping into a woman’s apartment. In 1986, he engaged in self-gratification in full view of five children. In 1988, he was charged with voyeurism for peeping into an apartment and also with indecent exposure for exposing himself outside a teenage boy’s home. In 1991, he pled guilty to child molestation. Public court records do not indicate the length of any jail sentences that he might have served for his crimes.
Now, he has openly admitted to having sexual fantasies about children. Regardless of his self-awareness, he has continued to subject himself to these tempting environments, and the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has helped to enable him.
Mayor Heath responded to the court’s decision: “I think it hurts our ability to protect our children. That type of conduct shouldn’t be permitted around parks where kids frequent.”
Dr. D. James Kennedy, founder and president of the CENTER FOR RECLAIMING AMERICA, adds, “It just goes to show the state of America’s judiciary. These judges knew that this man left a trail of emotionally scarred children. He has been caught… Not once, not twice, but habitually. Somehow, they have determined that his right to be sexually gratified at the sight of children in a public park is more important than the safety of children.”
Mayor Heath acknowledged that the costs of another appeal would be high, but says, “I think it’s going to be worth whatever it does cost."
