FL - Henry Sengaroun for rape of 8yo girl, St Petersburg, 2006

[Marie]

BTW I loooooooooove to meet a first grader that could write cursive, with that type of manual dexterity the kid could be a surgeon! I am not sure where you live, but nationally, cursive is not presented until the third grade:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/06/09/national/main557572.shtml

In my children's school district cursive writing is taught beginning the last half of 1st grade. By the last half of 2nd grade they are expected to do most work using cursive. It progresses naturally from [size=-1]D'Nealian handwriting taught in Pre, K and early 1st. I guess our school district is ahead of the nation regarding cursive. My oldest starts 3rd this fall - if you're so doubtful I'd be happy to send you a sample of his 1st grade cursive writing.
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[ladygator]

What do you think about the father and grandparent's responsibilty in Jessica Lunsford's case? They forgot to lock the door of the mobile home the night Jessica was snatched. Or maybe they typically didn't lock the door because they didn't see the need or importance. Probably the perp would have been deterred if the door had been locked. But he just walked right in and kidnapped that child. I've never blamed them, although Jessica probably would still be alive if they had exercised the caution of habitually locking their doors. I see the father and grandparents as victims, too, of a sick, sick individual.

In the course of everyday life we as humans make many decisions everyday; some are not the best and we usually escape tragedy. Not always, though. Some decisions will haunt us forever. But in cases such as this I place blame and responsibility squarely on the shoulders of the perpetrator.

Couey cut the screen which allowed him to stick his hand in and unlock the door. It's in the transcripts of his confession.

This case, of the this sick twist raping this little girl in broad day light will be a case to watch out for and see if Jessica's Law is working as intended.

 

[SewingDeb]

Um, call me crazy, but anyone who rapes a child has mental health issues. It should NOT be a defense of any kind. Lock him away, we don't need him and we don't want him.

Amen!

 

[SewingDeb]

Yes, it is the parents' responsibility to protect our children but dear God you can not be beside them 100% of the time. I'm learning this now when my oldest goes off to preschool and I will be leaving her in the hands of people, whom I hope are decent and respectable. After reading this, I am petrified that if something happens to her, then I will be to blame. After all, won't it be me leaving her there and not physically there to "protect" her???

Will you be leaving her in the care of responsible adults? I don't see how you would be blamed if you have checked the preschool out and everyone there seems to care about children and their safety. That is totally different from say one day you decided to drop her off at the park while you go run errands.

The difference is that the child is under the care of an adult the parent trusts versus being on their own at a very young age in a public place.

 

[SewingDeb]

Why not blame our legal system for not locking these people up and keeping them locked up, or the rapist's family-who knew he was disturbed and did nothing about it. Why not blame Florida for letting itself turn into perv heaven. How about blaming ourselves for not all rallying together and being in our lawmaker's faces so much that they pass better child protection laws to keep kids safe.

We don't even know that the crime wouldn't have happened if she'd been there. Maybe if she'd been there and tried to fight him off he would have killer her or incapaciated her and done it anyway. We just don't know. Would it have been better if it had been the little girl getting mail and her mom couldn't run out of the house and save her in time when someone snatched her at the mailbox? Would it be somehow less heinous because the mom was standing there helpless 30 feet away instead of 130? The only person I hold accountable for this is the sick F*%$ that did it. It didn't have to happen because he didn't have to do it. He acted with complete deliberation and malice-he could have stopped at anytime before raping her and he chose not to.

Aren't we all sick of being afraid all the time-isn't it insane that are kids can't be half a block away without being in danger. Think about it-a half block is about 130 feet-that's not that far-I can run half a block in like 15 seconds! Instead of pointing fingers at the mother why not point a finger at the predators who stalk our children and the system that seems to give them free reign to do it.

The children were too young to be left in a public park without adult supervision. Bottom line.

 

[SewingDeb]

I think this whack job would have attacked her regardless of who was around.

That is entirely possible, but if the mother had been there she could have pulled him off her daughter and called for help while beating the everloving you know what out of him. He wasn't even a big guy.

 

[SewingDeb]

What really boggles my mind is that there are people on this board (a crime forum) that see what evil things happen to children everyday and they can sit here and say that it's OK to leave children who are ages 7 and 8 by themselves in a park to go turn off a stove. :doh:

I will never understand it. Some of the same ones go on to tell us how the predators online are from every profession and look like the guy next door. Those pervs are not just online and the number of them caught in internet stings should tell us all that we can not be relaxed in our duty to protect our children.

 

[MrsMush99]

That is entirely possible, but if the mother had been there she could have pulled him off her daughter and called for help while beating the everloving you know what out of him. He wasn't even a big guy.

If her mother took her home with her, she wouldn't have been there in the first place for the guy to attack, IMO.

 

[SewingDeb]

If her mother took her home with her, she wouldn't have been there in the first place for the guy to attack, IMO.

Exactly! Taking the children with her or leaving them in the care of a responsible adult that she knew were her only real options IF she wanted to keep her children safe.

 

[concernedperson]

I wish I were perfect in every deed and every thought. But, I am not. I won't slide on serious ramifications but actions that were reactionary vs. thought out is really hard. I always think my coffee pot is on and it never is.

I never know where my adult children are. I remember my young son missing for a few moments and we had the whole neighborhood looking and he was under his bed sleeping.

I also remember being molested as a young child and my mother asking me about it when I was in my 40's. She said, I always thought there was something but at least your hymen wasn't broken. (of course her words weren't so eloquent) So, it is where is it coming from and why isn't there accountability.

The person that did this was known to others and there was no accountability. Other than maybe his mother was afraid. Why? Because she knew he was a loose cannon. Now, this is what should be chewed on. There is a perp and there is another crime that could have PREVENTED!

 

[SewingDeb]

I wish I were perfect in every deed and every thought. But, I am not. I won't slide on serious ramifications but actions that were reactionary vs. thought out is really hard. I always think my coffee pot is on and it never is.

I never know where my adult children are. I remember my young son missing for a few moments and we had the whole neighborhood looking and he was under his bed sleeping.

I also remember being molested as a young child and my mother asking me about it when I was in my 40's. She said, I always thought there was something but at least your hymen wasn't broken. (of course her words weren't so eloquent) So, it is where is it coming from and why isn't there accountability.

The person that did this was known to others and there was no accountability. Other than maybe his mother was afraid. Why? Because she knew he was a loose cannon. Now, this is what should be chewed on. There is a perp and there is another crime that could have PREVENTED!

You are so right, Concerned. But at the same time, we can not be relaxed about our children's safety. I hope this guy is put away for the rest of his life whether it be in prison or a psych ward. He is too dangerous to be trusted in society. Unfortunately, he is not the only one out there.

 

[concernedperson]

You are so right, Concerned. But at the same time, we can not be relaxed about our children's safety. I hope this guy is put away for the rest of his life whether it be in prison or a psych ward. He is too dangerous to be trusted in society. Unfortunately, he is not the only one out there.

There ya go. It is everyone's responsibility to seek and to report who out there may be a danger. Not a vigilante group but someone knows the behavior. Period.

We do everything we can as responsible parents but there are situations out of our control.

More, more and more needs to be done. For our children. And for ourselves.

 

[SewingDeb]

There ya go. It is everyone's responsibility to seek and to report who out there may be a danger. Not a vigilante group but someone knows the behavior. Period.

We do everything we can as responsible parents but there are situations out of our control.

More, more and more needs to be done. For our children. And for ourselves.

If they are known to be predators they should be reported. I would not hesitate. Someone usually suspects something.

Unfortunately, some parents are not as responsible as others and make it easy for these pervs. I'm not speaking specifically about the mother on this thread. She may be a wonderful mother and just had a lapse of judgement this one time. I really wish she had taken her children with her when she checked the stove and I'm sure she will never make that mistake again. Unfortunately, we can't go back and change things.

We do need to keep after our lawmakers and keep a watch on judges who are too lenient on these perps. I am glad Jessie's Law is in place in Florida and I hope it is put to good use for this guy.

BTW: Kudos to Aaron Chambliss and the lady who honked her horn and called 911 during the attack. They could have stayed out of it and who knows how it would have ended up. They are true heros in my eyes.

 

[southcitymom]

The children were too young to be left in a public park without adult supervision. Bottom line.

The bottom line to some, but not to others. I think we will all just have to agree to disagree on this one!

 

[southerngirl]

What really boggles my mind is that there are people on this board (a crime forum) that see what evil things happen to children everyday and they can sit here and say that it's OK to leave children who are ages 7 and 8 by themselves in a park to go turn off a stove. :doh:

And that would be me. I am a realist. I know the crime statistics in my community. I know the risks; I evaluate them everyday. Should I allow my 6 year old to play in the yard? Should I allow my 9 year old to sell Girl Scout cookies with her big brother in our neighborhood? Should I send my son to camp? Should I allow my girls to ride their bikes in our campground when we camp? I cannot live my life as a prisoner of fear. And I will not instill the same fear in my children. I live in the safest community we can afford. I have taught my children safety rules. They carry walkie talkies and cells. We have a home alarm and we try to keep the doors locked. I have taught them about the dangers of sick and evil people who live in the world. I watch them when necessary. But I do take my eye off them. And I am amazed that there are mothers on this forum who NEVER TAKE THEIR EYES OFF THEIR CHILDREN! Do you not allow your children to ride bikes? Visit neighborhood friends? Play in their own yard? Go to the mailbox without looking out the window at them? All because of an incredibly infinitesimal chance that some perv will grab them? Ed Smart is sending his daughter off to college in the fall. After her experience, I think this is a testimony to him as well as Elizabeth. They are not living their lives in fear despite Elizabeth's horrific experience.

 

[Marie]

Risk of kidnapping by a stranger: a national study (NISMART) estimated 115+/-55 children in the US were kidnapped by strangers in 1999. There were 80.5 million people 19 or younger in the US at the time. This leads to a probability of being abducted by a stranger of no more than 0.0002% in any given year, or a probability of being abducted at any point before age 19 of no more than 0.0038%.

Risk of sexual assault by a stranger: Statistics on the total incidence of sexual assaults on children range widely from 0.12% to 0.46%. 7% of sexual assaults on children are committed by strangers. This leads to a probability of being sexually assaulted by a stranger of no more than 0.032%.

Cecil Adams' column on the historical crime rate.

The "Missing Children" Problem, including the Kidnapping of Children

[url="http://www.anxietyculture.com/stats.htm#lowcrime"]British Statistics: from Anxiety Culture, Subversive Statistics
[/url]
Michele Elliott, the director of Kidscape, said: "What we're doing to our kids is telling them the world is a very horrible and scary place. We're creating a generation of children who are afraid of their own shadow. As a charity we have become more vocal in our message that it isn't such a terrible world out there."

Frank Furedi, professor of sociology at the University of Kent and a specialist in "risk consciousness", said: "Parents are almost forced to fall in line. Most parents are getting bombarded with these kind of messages in all kinds of ways.

"In the past two or three years there has been an exponential rise in the pressure on parents with scare stories. The minority of parents who try to resist it are stigmatised as irresponsible. When your own kid is the only one allowed to go shopping, to go to the swimming pool by himself, it looks very strange."

From: Do we worry too much about the safety of our children?
Also interesting: Paranoid Parenting.

 

[Mama-cita]

Agree to disagree all you want, but KUDOS to the parents out there who would rather be safe than sorry. The American Academy of Pediatrics agrees that children under the age of 12 lack the maturity to be able to be left unsupervised (www.aap.org). In my years as a pediatric nurse I have seen too many parents live to regret just one split second of poor judgment. Whether it be rape, drowning or near drowning, accidental death by the parent's firearm, locked in a hot car and suffocated, I can't begin to tell you the number of ways children can quickly get in to trouble, and the consequences are devastating. People think these things don't happen to them, they are the exception, not the rule, I want you to know NO ONE who has ever had such an accident EVER thought it would happen to them. My husband used to be a typical inattentive male (read: ADD when it comes to anything other than sports) and we have toddlers. Many times, I will be working in the office and one of them wanders in and daddy didn't even know they were gone. I always tell him, it only takes a split second for something devastating to happen, and it will change life forever. He has changed a lot and realizes he can always TiVO those great plays and rewind them; there is no TiVo to rewind if the children got in to something they shouldn't have because he wasn't paying attention. The same is true for young school aged children. Yes, they are learning about hte world and you want them to have their "wings" but they lack the judgment skills to care for themselves and respond appropriately in emergency situations. I have been involved in SafeKids and other community pediatric programs and children's safety is of the utmost concern to me. Whether it be car seats (I am a certified child passenger safety technician) or helmets, or injury prevention, it is a subject that is very near and dear to my heart. And for anyone who wants to snark about who is going to watch my kids while I get the mail or even blink (please, no one is Supermom, people just need good old fashioned common sense), save the circulatory function in your fingers; a parent walking to the mailbox (or blinking ) is not the same as a parent leaving a 7 and 8 year old unsupervised in a park. And, I would rather be an over-protective parent, than a "relaxed" one who would have to now live with the fear in my 8 year old baby's eyes after being the victim of rape. The man was psycho, yes his behavior could have been prevented by his own family dynamic, debate that all you want, but the bottom line is: this did not have to happen to that poor little girl.
I am glad they caught the rapist and hope is punished to the fullest extent of the law.
It is pointless to continue discussing this. I have never bashed the mother in this case, I feel very sad for her as a mother. However, as a pediatric nurse and an advocate for kids, I can't say that she acted properly in this situation.
Call me over-protective, call me what you want, but to those who live in the comfort of "it can't happen to my kid," well, I pray you never have to find out that it can. An ounce of prevention...

 

[Mama-cita]

[url="http://www.anxietyculture.com/stats.htm#lowcrime"]British Statistics: from Anxiety Culture, Subversive Statistics
[/url]
Michele Elliott, the director of Kidscape, said: "What we're doing to our kids is telling them the world is a very horrible and scary place. We're creating a generation of children who are afraid of their own shadow. As a charity we have become more vocal in our message that it isn't such a terrible world out there."

Frank Furedi, professor of sociology at the University of Kent and a specialist in "risk consciousness", said: "Parents are almost forced to fall in line. Most parents are getting bombarded with these kind of messages in all kinds of ways.

"In the past two or three years there has been an exponential rise in the pressure on parents with scare stories. The minority of parents who try to resist it are stigmatised as irresponsible. When your own kid is the only one allowed to go shopping, to go to the swimming pool by himself, it looks very strange."

From: Do we worry too much about the safety of our children?
Also interesting: Paranoid Parenting.

Interesting that you quote a lot from the UK. I assure you, these are not "SCARE STORIES" when they happen to your child. I hope and pray that neither you, nor anyone you know can find out in an instant that ANYONE can become a statistic.

 

[southerngirl]

Marie, I was about to post the exact same statistics! I read them from the link southcitymom posted, a very enlightening link, by the way. I felt supported in my parenting decisions after reading it.

 

[southerngirl]

Interesting that you quote a lot from the UK. I assure you, these are not "SCARE STORIES" when they happen to your child. I hope and pray that neither you, nor anyone you know can find out in an instant that ANYONE can become a statistic.

Her statistics are from the U.S. There were less than 200 stranger abductions in 1999 among 80.5 million children. Most abuse to children occurs within the home, physical as well as sexual. It is important to place this in the proper perspective. Home is a much more dangerous place for children in comparison to the outside world.