Armstrong and Getty were talking about this news story during their morning drive radio broadcast this morning and I had to shake my head. It’s wrong on so many levels, it’s hard to know what needs fixing first.
According to Alisha Dean’s MySpace page, she’s a 19-year-old divorced woman who describes herself as “S-E-X-Y”. Her posted photos, some showing her in various states of undress, present an enticing picture. And she apparently gets a good deal of attention from the page, proving the old adage: advertising pays.
Enter Morris Williams, 22, a young man who was attracted to Dean by her MySpace page. After a few telephone conversations, the two met (she picked him up on the street) and eventually they had sex. Dean confided that she wasn’t really 19, that she had actually just turned 18. Doesn’t sound like an uncommon scenario in today’s world, does it?
But Williams later discovered that Dean had lied, that she was actually a very mature looking 13-year-old! Horrified, he went to her father whom he believed would want to know about his daughter’s “shenanigans”. But instead of dealing with his daughter, who clearly needs some control and guidance in her life, Dean’s father reported Williams to police. He was arrested and sentenced to one year in jail, five years subsequent probation (during which he’ll wear an ankle bracelet) and required registration as a sexual predator.
But here’s the kicker. Dean had done the same thing before! Ask 24-year-old Darwin Mills who was sentenced to five years in prison after being enticed by Dean’s MySpace page!
So where do I start? Dean is clearly a sexual predator despite her young age, guilty of fraud if nothing else. But…
But she’s obviously getting little or no parental guidance or control. Her “father” (and I use the term very loosely) says she still stays out late and that he hasn’t had her take down the dishonest and suggestive MySpace page. Because she’s only 13, she probably won’t be held legally responsible for her actions. But her parents can, and should be.
And what about the young men she’s victimized? (That’s right, they’re arguably stupid, but victims nonetheless.) What might they have done differently? Well, aside from abstaining from sex until well into their thirties, some argue that they shoulda-coulda asked for proof of her age, perhaps checked her “valid driver license” and/or “birth certificate”.
But what if she falsified those as well? Would they still be in jail? I’m betting they would, especially in Orange County, Florida, where this little whore (oh, wait, she’s not a whore - she gives it away) slut misguided child lives and where the courts are notorious for handing down stupid rulings.
No, in this case responsibility should fall squarely on the shoulders of the girl and her parents. Can’t control her? Then the state should require they send her to some place where she can receive some guidance. She’s clearly not getting any at home. If she continues down her present path into adulthood, she’ll be ill prepared to offer any positive contribution to society. Worse, her children will likely grow up just like her. But sending her “victims” to jail while allowing her behavior to go unchecked is absurd and unjust.
Are there more dumb flies that have been lured into her web? Probably, but it’s unlikely any will come forward. Will any get “caught” and end up in jail like Williams and Mills? If nothing else changes, if no one fills in the big pothole in the middle of the road, I’m betting on it.