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From the South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Letter to the editor
Molester’s deal inappropriate
By Jacques Bobrowsky
February 19, 2005
Re: “Former Western High football player gets 15 months in prison for molestation”.
It never ceases to amaze me what goes on in our society today. Common sense should be called uncommon sense. When you look at children, you are actually gazing into the eyes of future parents, teachers, and senators even our next president. Shouldn’t we treat them as such?
Shawn Strawser pleaded no contest to molesting four girls between the ages of 7 and 10 years old. The defense claimed Strawer was 15 years old when he molested the girls. The victims’ families claimed he was 17 years old at the time. Does it matter? In either case, the defendant was old enough to know what he was doing was wrong.
The Judge agreed to a 15-month prison sentence because the defendant was truly remorseful. Although the defendant appeared to be remorseful, that should not have been the basis for such an extremely light sentence as the one imposed. There should never have been a plea offer in this case to begin with.
I understand that the state attorney’s office is overwhelmed with cases and therefore must offer plea deals in certain cases. This is a case that was so heinous; it should have been handled with priority and have gone to trial.
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