Not to harp on Barbour, but I would keep a few things in mind:
-As noted by others in this thread, sexual predators seldom act once in isolation
-While he did plea to 2 misdemeanor counts, that hardly tells the story. He met a 15 year old girl, molested her at that time, and set up a future sexual rendezvous with her, and then went through with it. All the while, he knew her age. While I appreciate that he did his time, and I am sure a rehash is painful for him, I imagine it is worse for her, and always will be. He is not someone who failed to separate his recyclables or tried to get a tax credit to which he was not entitled. He committed a premeditated violent sexual crime against a child.
Had James Barbour done this recently (or had it first come to light recently), I think he would be in for a much greater humiliation and likely more than the slap on the wrist he got. And while in quantity this is not in league with what we know about HW or DJT, it is every bit as bad as any allegation against them. Worse, I think, because I have not heard an allegation against either Weinstein or Trump involving a child.
While convicts of all stripes who do their time do get to reenter society, the recidivism rate for sex offenders requires responsible citizens and employers to keep an eye- forever- on them. I hope in addition to his jail term he continues to be in therapy. |
