GUILTY NJ - Gregory Leary & others for sexual assault of 7yo girl, Trenton, 2010

[AutomaticAuttie]

One thing to keep in mind here - Most teen prostitutes DO NOT have free will, even if they appear to. Please look into how sex trafficking works - it rarely resembles Hollywood movies with their kidnappings and gun toting goons etc.

From the looks of this, this was no typical party that this girl was 'invited' to - it stinks of a gathering of Johns that the teen was ordered to service, and when the 7 year old tagged along, I doubt the teen had much say in what happened after that. I guarentee there's a pimp involved in all of this, and from the lack of training that most LE have in trafficking, I doubt they're going to bother going after him given that they already have a perp arrested and easily prosecuted.

All just my opinion, but I had to speak up as I see teen trafficking victims sent deeper into the hole by LE instead of helped out of it far too often.

Unless she was forced into it, then she had a free will to not get into prostition in the first palce.

 

[SkewedView]

Unless she was forced into it, then she had a free will to not get into prostition in the first palce.

I'm sorry that you feel that way. A vast number of studies into child (and even adult) prostitution say otherwise. It's a difficult process to understand though, as it is all about psychological manipulation, wearing down of esteem, coercion and fear tactics that takes place gradually over an extended period of time, usually right under everybody's noses. Unfortunately we still have, as a society, a veiw of prostitution that is at odds with the reality, as it is too easy to see them as scum and trash that ruin our nice towns as opposed to victims of evil men and a legal system that helps to keep them trapped.

Again, JMO

 

[Missizzy]

I think where I get hung up, folks, is with the statement from AA, "I am sure this 15 year old has been exposed to various despicable acts, so what!" So what?

We don't say "so what" to our hurting soldiers, to our survivors of 9/11, to the victims of violent crime. We say, (hopefully) let's get you some help now. If we don't, we'll pay the price down the road. And what a tragic blotch on society if we do turn away.

Stop and think for a moment how we spend hours each day celebrating the rescue of an infant, child, or teen from a horrific situtation--abuse, neglect, starvation, torture. We are so happy and relieved that a little one was saved. I get the strong sense that many people actually believe that the damaged child can get some therapy and pull herself up by the bootstraps.

We look away for a few years and then are appalled when the same child acts out as a teen or young adult. Some of us call for him/her to be "thrown under the bus", "she should have known how painful abuse is", "she knows right from wrong and she made the choice".

Can't you for one moment realize that not every child is strong enough to heal. I've raised 9 very damaged, fragile children--touched by all sorts of trauma. Our odds of success are actually quite low. And this is with long term therapy, a very protective and loving family, the best education, and growing up in a literally crime free town. Add in no TV, few movies or video-games, organic food, and pet therapy.

But these kids were drug exposed prenatally and many were exposed to violence in their birth or foster homes. They reacted to their later rape while in our home in vastly different ways. One is in college, a gifted athlete and has developed wonderful relationships. One is kind but absolutely unable to work due to heart disease and DD. One is recovering addict, works, and a happy and productive citizen. One is in prison. One is a prostitute. One is in jail. One is homeless with multiple warrants. Two live at home and are delightful but very challenged young ladies with DD.

Each, already compromised little brain, reacted in different ways to further trauma, loss, and abandonment issues (as with any adopted child). It's a gamble. I can't say that I could have told you with certainty who would have which outcome. A couple have truly surprised me by learning from their mistakes and straightening up. One has surprised me with his level of struggle after years of doing so well.

My point is that I love my children in equal measure. I make huge exceptions for their own life view and challenges. Their reality is most definitely NOT my reality. I treasure the successes and take the failures in stride. I expect them to pay for each mistake (I think you'd all be absolutely shocked at how tough a Mom I am) but I still believe in the power of rehabilitation and a family's support.

I'm not in any way asking for this 15 year old to get a free pass to 6 months in a group home and some therapy. I'm simply saying that she's a child we very possibly had a thread for 7 years ago. I would plunk down hard cash that she's been badly hurt and had her innocence stolen--and not by a stranger while in the bosom of a loving family.

IMO, she projected that pain on another. Shame on her. By law, though, she's a child and is a victim herself if she has been compelled to victimize others. How can she be tried as an adult? She can't even consent to sex!!

I humbly wish that each of you could spend five minutes inside a compromised brain and see what it looks like from this side. It's not a cakewalk.

I am forever impressed and humbled that some people can reinvent themselves after trauma and become productive members of society. I truly think that those who do are heros and had some factor in their life (a loving relative or mentor, God, or sheer determination and a clear mind). We are all not so blessed.

Both little girls desperately need treatment, for their sake, and for society's safety.

 

[Missizzy]

Why is it that so many are willing to fully understand and be compassionate of Jaycee's and Elizabeth's mind control and manipulation? They had "free will" and could have asked anyone on the street for help...but they didn't. They stayed where they were and accepted their fate. Their brains were totally controlled. It is truly tragic.

So why can't this same measure be applied to this 15 year old? Is it because Jaycee and Elizabeth are seen as "good girls" and this young teen is a "bad girl"? My guess is that Jaycee and Elizabeth went into their "years of hell" as beloved children who had enjoyed the protections of doting parents. Their brain chemistry and self-esteem were already imprinted on their psyche. I have a feeling that this 15 year old did not enjoy that privilege and thus, has floundered. Fifteen year olds are vulnerable and rarely see a way "out" of a horrid situation. Even the emotionally healthiest don't automatically make good choices.

I totally disagree that prostitutes have free will...especially those who are 15 or cognitively and/or developmentally affected. IMO, trafficking involves far more than genitals. It also rapes the soul and the spirit.

 

[SuziQ]

I think where I get hung up, folks, is with the statement from AA, "I am sure this 15 year old has been exposed to various despicable acts, so what!" So what?

We don't say "so what" to our hurting soldiers, to our survivors of 9/11, to the victims of violent crime. We say, (hopefully) let's get you some help now. If we don't, we'll pay the price down the road. And what a tragic blotch on society if we do turn away.

As soon as they commit a crime I say "so what". No one is saying victims shouldn't get help. But if they don't get it before they commit a crime and go on to commit a crime they are no longer a victim. At that point they can get help in prison.

 

[Texas Mist]

April 2, 2010 1:02 PM
Man Arrested in Connection with Gang Rape of 7-Year-Old

TRENTON, N.J. (CBS/AP) Police have arrested Gregory Joseph Leary on charges that he had sex with a 15-year-old girl. The 15-year-old is herself accused of selling her 7-year-old stepsister to a group of men who gang raped her.

Leary was booked Wednesday night on charges of statutory rape and endangering the welfare of a child. Under New Jersey law, the 15-year-old is too young to consent to sex.

Leary was being held Thursday in jail on a $200,000 cash bond.

Police said they are investigating whether Leary was involved with the rape of the 7-year-old at a party Sunday night in a public housing apartment building.

more here

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20001639-504083.html?tag=contentMain;contentBody

 

[Missizzy]

I would totally agree with you, SusieQ, except the reality is that our prisons and youth offender facilities offer little to no therapy. There was a time during the 80s and 90s where rehabilitative help was available. Sadly, those programs have been cut. If this 15 year old were sent away for 10 years, it is highly likely she would exit her program being even more hardened and angry as these are still her formative years. On a purely fiscal level, it wouldn't be prudent to imprison a child forever to prevent her from re-offending. We just don't have the funds.

Another issue that I'm waiting to hear about is the older child's cognitive age and past history. That's going to tell me a whole lot about the dynamics of this case. I wonder about these issues because I live with them everyday.

Please keep in mind that I am the mother of an active 21 year old prostitute who has the emotional and cognitive level of a 6-7 year old and an IQ of 63. She can't tell time and doesn't even know all her colors or the days of the week. She can print her name, though, and read at a first grade level. If she were to still live at home (she's trafficked, so I have only a vague idea of where she is), I seriously doubt that she would see anything wrong at all with allowing our 7 year old granddaughter to tag along with her on a call. After all, she does it. I've heard her say to one of her siblings, "It doesn't hurt very much after a while." It makes my stomach just flip but she is irretrievably damaged from her DD and her trauma. She doesn't know right from wrong. If she's is arrested, because she is 21, she will go to jail. At 15, I would have fought like heck for a treatment facility.

I almost hate to bring this up, but I've written numerous times about a Mormon Apostle who sharply rebuked victims and told them that they "must accept some responsibility in their sexual abuse". I abhor that stance. Do we honestly expect a 15 year old girl to accept responsibility for being abused sexually? Knowing right from wrong and having a conscience is not a birthright. Those traits don't fall from the sky. I wish they did.

I firmly believe that there are two young victims here. The treatment for each must be very totally different, however. And we still have not seen all the facts.

 

[songline]

Oh yeah, right, trying the 15 year old child and rape victim as an adult will fix everything. I'm certain once they pull that little "hussy" off the streets, the entire apartment building will instantly be a safer place for families.

Trafficking is vile and this 15 year old was trafficked in some degree. I seriously doubt if she even knows which way is up any longer. We'll just have to watch this and see how it plays out. There's several chapters of this story yet to be revealed IMO.

Mitzzy with all due respect, while the 15 year old needs to go to some rehab home for a long while, the area will not be safer due to her. Remember it was the guys who did the raping, they need to go away too. they cant stay out there.
there will always be another victim.

 

[songline]

Yes, we throw her under the bus too in 7 years. She knew at 7 it was wrong, we already know that. She told. She was hurt. etc.... If she turns around at 14-15 and does the same thing...she made a choice. A more informed choice than most sex offenders. It's a myth that most were themselves molested as children. Less than half were. That leaves at least 51% without the "abuse excuse". ( It's actually closer to 75% I believe)

Why wouldn't you take the younger sister back into that home? Are you assuming the eldest learned how to pimp and prostitute at home from her parents? I think the oldest child should never return to live under the same roof as the youngest.

If She was abused unless she is put into therapy knowing it was wrong is not always enough. sometimes it is the rage inside that wants to get even with the world.
I think an abused person must get therapy, MUST...the chance for them to become the abuser is more then 50/50 so they just be in therapy.
We cant just say that she knows something bad happened so if she does it too in some years down the line it would have just been a choice. NO.. the rage lives on till it is handled and healed.


MO

 

[songline]

UPDATE

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_TEEN_SISTER_SEX?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=US

I don't think people just come forward on such horrific charges.
But I do think the 15 year old does know who they are. :furious:

 

[songline]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36134587/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/

TRENTON, N.J. - Police ramped up their investigation Thursday into the case of a 7-year-old girl who they say was gang-raped by a group of men while her 15-year-old stepsister watched and got paid for it.
Police conducted a pre-dawn raid at the troubled public housing complex, a high-rise apartment building so dangerous that officers are hired as security guards at night.
Hours before, they arrested a 20-year-old Trenton man on charges he had sex with the teenager in one of the apartments.

Gregory Joseph Leary was booked Wednesday night on charges of statutory rape and endangering the welfare of a child. Under New Jersey law, the 15-year-old is too young to consent to sex.
Leary was being held Thursday in jail on a $200,000 cash bond. Jail officials said Leary does not have a listed attorney.
Police said they are investigating whether Leary was involved with the rape of the 7-year-old at a party Sunday night in the apartment complex down the street from the Statehouse.
27 arrested on unrelated warrants
On Thursday morning, police arrested 27 people on unrelated outstanding warrants during a sweep of Rowan Towers. Trenton police Capt. Joseph Juniak said the raid was planned before the girl's attack but that it was "somewhat beneficial for investigators" looking

Thank you GetSmart...I want to see more arrests. and I really hope that both girls get much needed therapy.

 

[songline]

I do not consider her a victim here. Yes she is a child but she willingly came up with a plan to have sex for money. Yea, the men there need to be charged accordingly and so should she. She does not get a pass because she allowed herself to be victimized at this party. I do not feel a drop of pity for her. She needs her butt beat.

I think she needs intense therapy, not only is she hooking at that age but pimping too???? and only 15???/
Common she is some sort of a victim as well as perp.
unless she is just a bad seed. and that is possible.

 

[songline]

Unless she was forced into it, then she had a free will to not get into prostition in the first palce.

We do not know anything really. we have no clue what type of home she comes from, if she is totally mentally stable, if she has prostituted for these guys before? and if she did how did little sister come tagging along? we really do not know the real story and maybe we wont know the real details.

All I know is both girls need different type of therapy and a lot of it.

 

[Missizzy]

AA--I'm sorry I wasn't clear. I was being facetious. Of course, I realize that there are many dynamics at play in that apartment building and that the adult men/women who participated must be arrested immediately.

I was trying to make a point that by arresting this girl and imprisoning her, we really accomplish nothing.

 

[songline]

Why is it that so many are willing to fully understand and be compassionate of Jaycee's and Elizabeth's mind control and manipulation? They had "free will" and could have asked anyone on the street for help...but they didn't. They stayed where they were and accepted their fate. Their brains were totally controlled. It is truly tragic.

So why can't this same measure be applied to this 15 year old? Is it because Jaycee and Elizabeth are seen as "good girls" and this young teen is a "bad girl"? My guess is that Jaycee and Elizabeth went into their "years of hell" as beloved children who had enjoyed the protections of doting parents. Their brain chemistry and self-esteem were already imprinted on their psyche. I have a feeling that this 15 year old did not enjoy that privilege and thus, has floundered. Fifteen year olds are vulnerable and rarely see a way "out" of a horrid situation. Even the emotionally healthiest don't automatically make good choices.

I totally disagree that prostitutes have free will...especially those who are 15 or cognitively and/or developmentally affected. IMO, trafficking involves far more than genitals. It also rapes the soul and the spirit.

Jaycee and Elizabeth have been abducted. That does make some difference.
SO if this 15 year old has been prostituting for a while she needs help really needs help, she could have gone to her parents long ago and asked for help it seems the little one did do that. SO maybe this teen was attention starved and did it for kicks, and maybe she was mentally out of balance and did ti because she had no boundaries, or moral code that her family taught her. I do not know but she does need help.
To go home each night is not the same a an abduction.

I CAN NOT compare it to an abducted child who is brain washed and has no way to get help, until they are safe enough because someone rescued them somehow.

 

[AutomaticAuttie]

I'm sorry that you feel that way. A vast number of studies into child (and even adult) prostitution say otherwise. It's a difficult process to understand though, as it is all about psychological manipulation, wearing down of esteem, coercion and fear tactics that takes place gradually over an extended period of time, usually right under everybody's noses. Unfortunately we still have, as a society, a veiw of prostitution that is at odds with the reality, as it is too easy to see them as scum and trash that ruin our nice towns as opposed to victims of evil men and a legal system that helps to keep them trapped.

Again, JMO

Maybe you are not understanding what I am saying or maybe you are and we just disagree. I agree with what you are saying once a girl chooses to become a prostitute all of things you mentioned above most likely happen. I understand that she then becomes a slave so to speak. My heart breaks for those that feel the need to begin selling their body for money and or drugs in the first place. I see it two ways.....1.) A girl is forced into it by means of actual physical force. An example of that would be girls that are kidnapped or sold by her own family. To then be sold as sex slaves on the black market. Or 2.) A girl decides on her own "free will" to become a prostitute for various reasons. One is by choice and the other is not by choice, I believe both 1 and 2 would create the same process once inside the ring of being a prostitute.

 

[JoeFromLB]

We do not know anything really. we have no clue what type of home she comes from, if she is totally mentally stable, if she has prostituted for these guys before? and if she did how did little sister come tagging along? we really do not know the real story and maybe we wont know the real details.

All I know is both girls need different type of therapy and a lot of it.

According to police, the "7-year-old stepsister tagged along because she worried about the older girl's safety."

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_TEEN_SISTER_SEX?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=US

How ironic is that!

 

[AutomaticAuttie]

AA--I'm sorry I wasn't clear. I was being facetious. Of course, I realize that there are many dynamics at play in that apartment building and that the adult men/women who participated must be arrested immediately.

I was trying to make a point that by arresting this girl and imprisoning her, we really accomplish nothing.

I think you mean Songline, not me.:waitasec:

 

[jjenny]

Why is it that so many are willing to fully understand and be compassionate of Jaycee's and Elizabeth's mind control and manipulation? They had "free will" and could have asked anyone on the street for help...but they didn't. They stayed where they were and accepted their fate. Their brains were totally controlled. It is truly tragic.

So why can't this same measure be applied to this 15 year old? Is it because Jaycee and Elizabeth are seen as "good girls" and this young teen is a "bad girl"? My guess is that Jaycee and Elizabeth went into their "years of hell" as beloved children who had enjoyed the protections of doting parents. Their brain chemistry and self-esteem were already imprinted on their psyche. I have a feeling that this 15 year old did not enjoy that privilege and thus, has floundered. Fifteen year olds are vulnerable and rarely see a way "out" of a horrid situation. Even the emotionally healthiest don't automatically make good choices.

I totally disagree that prostitutes have free will...especially those who are 15 or cognitively and/or developmentally affected. IMO, trafficking involves far more than genitals. It also rapes the soul and the spirit.

You can't be serious. You are comparing kidnapped victims to this female who from what's been reported willingly had gone with these men.
Furthermore, neither Jaycee nor Elizabeth have been accused of pimping a seven year old child to a bunch of men.
There is no comparison whatsoever.

 

[SkewedView]

Maybe you are not understanding what I am saying or maybe you are and we just disagree. I agree with what you are saying once a girl chooses to become a prostitute all of things you mentioned above most likely happen. I understand that she then becomes a slave so to speak. My heart breaks for those that feel the need to begin selling their body for money and or drugs in the first place. I see it two ways.....1.) A girl is forced into it by means of actual physical force. An example of that would be girls that are kidnapped or sold by her own family. To then be sold as sex slaves on the black market. Or 2.) A girl decides on her own "free will" to become a prostitute for various reasons. One is by choice and the other is not by choice, I believe both 1 and 2 would create the same process once inside the ring of being a prostitute.

The problem is that young girls don't choose to become prostitutes - they don't just wake up one day and say, gee, I wanna sc*ew for money yippee! Nor do they get kidnapped and forced into it by gunpoint, no matter what reassuring myths hollywood wants to pawn off on us might say. No, they are lured in by men who take advantage of their insecurities, usually at the age of twelve or thirteen, and gradually seduced into doing these things while their esteem is destroyed insidiously. They don't CHOOSE their fate - they are tricked into it and then led to think that they are trapped...really, it's the same cycle of psychological abuse and feelings of entrapment and guilt that a victim of domestic violence goes through - and the same as what another fifteen year old recently went through from bullying before she reached the point that she felt that death was her only escape (a common fate of trafficking victims along with other forms of self-destruction I might add).

On the topic of a victim of pimps then recruiting or pimping - that's usually what they are made to do once they start getting older/worn out - and to all outside appearances it looks like a willful act of evil, but again, they think they have no other choice.

Now if we find that this girl really did decide to do all of this on her own, I'll say to lock her up good, but LE really, really needs to look into whether there was coercion in this case, or they will simply be adding to the victimization here.

Once more, all JMO from my big mouth.