GUILTY MD - Ryan Gifford for beating, raping toddler, Westminster, 2010

[Laece]

snipped

I believe this truly is about total control. Not sex.

Absolutely. Control, power, and opportunity. Obviously, sex is a part of it given that it's part of the crime. But 'attraction'...not so much.

 

[kbl8201]

I would have to disagree with the doctor and say that "not all cases of child sexual abuse involve physical force." Some do, some don't. But it doesn't matter, as a child has no right to consent.

One of our children "went along with the abuse" and even returned several more times to be raped. Problem was, she was 8 years old and seriously cognitively challenged. Coercion was used however...in spades. Rewards, praise, attention, special treatment. JMO

Not a whit of this matters, however, as babies and children have NO ability or right to consent whatsoever.

heck he said 'force or coercsion :waitasec: ummmmm i wonder how many sickos this guy has helped get off....seriously, if there's no phsyical force or coercsion, what else is left? :waitasec:

 

[WhyaDuck?]

I am assuming the doctor was meaning that one doesn't often see this level of acute physical trauma with sexual abuse, which I think is the case as the pervs want to continue having access to the child and not get caught.

I do agree that his choice of wording was incredibly bad, and erroneous, but I am willing to try to see his point - this level of visible wounding does seem unusual when the perp is someone known to the family, IMO. (He should be more careful with his choice of terms, however.)

 

[Columbo]

Alleged Toddler Rapist's Past May Shed Light on Attack
Last Update: 4/15 12:14 pm

We asked a leading psychiatrist, Dr. Fred Berlin, to review that report.

"Certainly this type of physical abuse and injury in association with sexual abuse is extremely rare. I mean the bulk of sex abuse cases, though obviously very wrong, don't involve physical force, coercion, things of that nature," said Berlin.

snip

"It is true that most people don't act this way even when they're intoxicated,” said Berlin, “In many cases, there's a preexisting vulnerability, but there are some drugs---PCP is one that comes to mind, where people can do things completely out of character simply because they're intoxicated with something that pushes them in a direction that they wouldn't ordinarily go."

Gifford did have the presence of mind to lock the bathroom door.

While his fate will now rest with the courts, Dr. Berlin says the young victim’s future may hinge on how she’s allowed to recover, both physically and emotionally.

"There's a difference between having been wronged and having been permanently damaged. Obviously what happened here is this child has been terribly wronged, but it would be a big mistake in my judgment like damaged goods and then, in that sense, the child picks up on it and it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy," said Berlin.

Article: http://www.abc2news.com/mostpopular...-Shed-Light-on-At/NXGysJJ9XkyFjMwA7WJ4ug.cspx

Video: http://www.abc2news.com/mediacenter/[email protected]

Because of his poor wording it's hard to believe this doctor is referring to this particular case.

The baby was "wronged" ? I don't think so--it's much worse than that. If the bulk of sexual abuse cases don't involve physical force, they most certainly do involve coercion. Isn't coercion what it is all about?

It sounds like the doctor is sitting back in his armchair, completely removed from reality. JMHO.

 

[BeanE]

Because of his poor wording it's hard to believe this doctor is referring to this particular case.

The baby was "wronged" ? I don't think so--it's much worse than that. If the bulk of sexual abuse cases don't involve physical force, they most certainly do involve coercion. Isn't coercion what it is all about?

It sounds like the doctor is sitting back in his armchair, completely removed from reality. JMHO.

I can't even comment about that doctor or I'd have to time myself out.

 

[BeanE]

Apr 20, 2010 6:22 pm US/Eastern
Abused Toddler Now Center Of Custody Case

Mike Hellgren reports there's a family feud with people on the father's side upset that the mother's side has temporary custody.

snip

The abuse charges have touched off a war of words and a custody battle between the baby's mother and father. Both sides spoke to WJZ.

The child's stepgrandfather, who has custody right now, calls the crime "heinous." But he says the child's mother loves her baby and has always done an excellent job raising her.

The father's relatives claim the terrifying abuse police say went on was preventable. His sister says they will fight to keep the baby. She says Gifford's criminal background concerned her and she had a protective order against him in the past She says she warned Child Protective Services several weeks before this happened.

http://wjz.com/local/ryan.gifford.2.1645584.html

 

[CHICANA]

Apr 20, 2010 6:22 pm US/Eastern
Abused Toddler Now Center Of Custody Case

Mike Hellgren reports there's a family feud with people on the father's side upset that the mother's side has temporary custody.

snip

The abuse charges have touched off a war of words and a custody battle between the baby's mother and father. Both sides spoke to WJZ.

The child's stepgrandfather, who has custody right now, calls the crime "heinous." But he says the child's mother loves her baby and has always done an excellent job raising her.

The father's relatives claim the terrifying abuse police say went on was preventable. His sister says they will fight to keep the baby. She says Gifford's criminal background concerned her and she had a protective order against him in the past She says she warned Child Protective Services several weeks before this happened.

http://wjz.com/local/ryan.gifford.2.1645584.html

Is there a reason Dad wasn't immediately given custody ?

 

[LadyL]

Is there a reason Dad wasn't immediately given custody ?

was wondering that too ...

 

[CHICANA]

was wondering that too ...

Child's step-grandfather has custody ? I don't get this, if mom can't have custody, dad should be next in line.

 

[Vegas Bride]

Is it possible that this put something in the mothers drink so she would sleep through this horrible crime? Something that would really mess up her thinking even after she woke up? That's the only thing I can think of to explain her actions/non-action.

VB

 

[Angel4u2Whisper2]

Is it possible that this put something in the mothers drink so she would sleep through this horrible crime? Something that would really mess up her thinking even after she woke up? That's the only thing I can think of to explain her actions/non-action.

VB

I understand what you are saying. I am wondering though if that was the case how she was able to successfully wash and dress the baby and put her to bed before she "crashed" again?

 

[sindydee]

---------------------------------
The only way to stop them is auto death penalty.If we cant get rid of them one way,try this.They are scum who should ALL be made to suffer what they did to the child.Send the bas%#*&( to Iraq and let them behead them!!! I am Pixxed at all of this going on!:furious:

I know. China have the right idea. In cases like this, convict and exceute. Get rid of the scum so they can't hurt anyone else. No cushy prison cell, with 3 meals a day in solitary confinement with no one to bother them. Even a wooden box in the ground is too good for them. Give the money that it would have cost to keep these animals, to the victims to help aid their recovery.

And when are police etc going to start realising that these mothers ALLOW this to happen. (obviously not in all cases) but THIS woman put her child to bed after it was quite obvious her child was so very badly injured. I mean what did she think happened she fell out the bed? This was AFTER she walked into the bathroom and they were both NAKED and just cleaned her up and put her back to suffer in her bed. I am fuming. She needs arresting for endangering her OWN childs well being. It's too much this is.

And and for this not remembering, isnt it strange how he REMEMBERED to lock the door, in his drunk or drugged up state (yeah right).

 

[Filly]

Sentencing is in June.

Convicted of (1) count sexual abuse of a minor. Convicted (1) count of 1st degree assault.

Mom said she found the monster in the shower with her baby and he was extremely drunk.

This whole thing sickens me. All of it. All we can do is pray this poor, poor baby girl will have help along her road of life. Lord knows she got dealt an awful hand. There's no justice. There'd be no justice if they could give him the death penalty.



http://westminster.patch.com/articles/carroll-county-crime-roundup

 

[Laddsy]

Oh man I feel physically ill after reading this. I am a proud father of two baby girls and if anyone even laid a finger on them they would be dead. I just dont understand it. What an absolute SICKO!

 

[2goldfish]

well....at least he was convicted....there just arent enough charges to place against him to make me happy I guess. still seems to me crimes like this should have removal of the offending part(s) for a punishment....

 

[lonetraveler]

he'll go to prison for sure, how long...who knows but from what I hear, prisoners do not take kindly to baby rapers so hopefully he'll get his just desert there. As far as that woman goes, she should be put in prison as well. She has no right to have custody of this precious gem. I'm sure there are a lot of people out there that would love to have her in their family. I will continue to pray for her safety and for her to have a stable life from now on that is full of only love. raying:

There are so many of these cases where the mother doesn't get charged! Why? At the very least she should be sterilized so that she can never have another baby. She should serve the exact same sentence as he does IMO. He should get death.

 

[MorenoI]

This mother should get charged, she just cleaned up the baby and put her to bed!

JMO:

To think that this man already had abused this child and she just went to bed maybe without a care in the world, what if he would have attacked her daughter again while she was sleeping for the 2nd time....in my opinion she was opening the door for him to have another oppurtunity to abuse her! Whether she realized it or Not!

 

[not_my_kids]

This is just one of those cases...this particular type pisses me off for so many reasons. Because I have kids.
Because I can't imagine someone hurting my kids and having any other mental choice than whether I should get my child treatment first and kill the SOB later, or vice versa.
And because these cases are so hard on my family, so yeah, in a way they are a little bit personal.
People call me crazy because I allow my boyfriend to babysit my children...and then I explain my situation. Would he be doing this is he were the boyfriend I met 3 months ago? No. Would he be doing this if he hadn't had nearly daily contact with all of my kids since the day they were born? No. Would he be doing this if there were even one unexplained bruise or any trepidation towards him from my kids? No. Would he be doing this if I had found him locked in a bathroom with my bruised, bloodied, naked daughter? No, for he would be dead.
My boyfriend babysits my children because he is my best friend of ten years, has been in nearly daily contact with my kids since the day they came home from the hospital, and calls me if one of them so much as coughs. He's more paranoid than I am in most cases. One of the kids gets a minor cough, I have no problem letting it go for a day to see if I can get them to the pediatrician. he wants to take them to ER the first time they sneeze. Cases like this hurt him. I think to the physical point of actually being in pain sometimes.
He sees it as a privilege that I allow my kids to be with him. That I trust him that much, and that the kids love him just as much as I do. He hates guys like this creep, he really does. Partly because they make him look bad as part of that group of *Moms's Boyfriend*, but also because he gets it and he understands how this should work if you are going to take on a relationship with a woman that has children. And neither he nor I can see how any other guy can NOT get it. It's pretty simple. If you only want to be involved with the woman and not the kid, walk away. If you aren't one hundred percent ready to step into the role of "insta-dad", walk away. And if you are an immature jerk that craves power and control in whatever way you can get it...walk away. Period.

 

[missy_g]

I am in no way standing up for this guy when I make this post.

I want to say that a 1/2 gallon of wine isn't that much, especially for a seasoned drinker. A 1/2 gallon of wine would be the same as a 40oz of beer plus some. Apparently this guy had other deep rooted issues that CAN'T be blamed on the drinking. Either this was planned or there was something seriously wrong with this man.
Do any of the articles say how long they had been dating (I'm sorry I'm horrible at reading articles, I usually read the first one and that's it because they usually say the same things over and over again)?

In this case I worry about the mother as well because seriously, how could you not wake up when your kid is being beaten and raped? Something just doesn't add up and with her cleaning the baby up then going back to sleep? I'm wondering if there is more to this case and the boyfriend isn't talking.

As a side note, I agree with what not_my_kids has said. I don't have any kids of my own but I have a niece and I would totally trust my boyfriend of 8 years with her. When it comes down to it he has done more for her then her father. If we never have kids, I know that we will always have her and she is the closest to a child I have ever had. Hell, we even call her to come out to spend time with us. I know there is a stigma when it comes to "mom's boyfriends" but that's because you never hear of the good things they can do, only the bad.

 

[missy_g]

Does anyone know if the boyfriend has said anything yet?