God and Jaycee

[K_C]

I think most of us have heard the tragic story in the news about Jaycee, the 11-yr old girl who was abducted eighteen years ago, kept in isolation, living in deplorable conditions, and forced to bear her rapist two children - one when she was only 14 yrs. old herself. In short, her childhood was stolen along with her innocence. She suffered irreparable damage as, most likely, have her two daughters.

This story has me sick at heart because I can imagine all those nights, weeks, months, and years when this poor girl was suffering - crying, screaming, and terrified. Surely, she must have prayed her heart out to God, begging His mercy - as her family must have also done.

I can’t help wondering: Why did God allow so much suffering to go on for so long without providing any help to this innocent child? Where was her guardian angel? The angels of her own daughters?

How might we answer these questions if she were to address them to us? I find it very difficult to answer them for myself. How can we explain to such victims that God is merciful and just? How can we even expect them to grasp the meaning of love? In fact, when people are so badly abused that they are incapable of feeling anymore, if they cannot express love at all, how can they then go to heaven? (I am not now referring to Jaycee, but to all victims in general.)

If anyone here can offer any real insights to alleviate the pain so many of us now feel in our hearts for this poor girl, I would certainly appreciate hearing what can be offered. I find it all so distressing that a simple “it was not God’s will” just does not seem enough. Nor does it suffice to say that the “free will” of her captor justifies God’s* apparent* indifference. As you can see, this really has got me down.

 

[Eucharisted]

I can’t help wondering: Why did God allow so much suffering to go on for so long without providing any help to this innocent child? Where was her guardian angel? The angels of her own daughters?

Excerpts from Divine Mercy In My Soul:
catholic-forum.com/churches/cathteach/divinemercy_suffering.htm
catholic-forum.com/churches/cathteach/divinemercy_sadness.htm

• Conversation of the Merciful God with a Suffering Soul

1487 Jesus: Poor soul, I see that you suffer much and that you do not have even the strength to coverse with me. So I will speak to you. Even though your sufferings were very great, do not lose heart or give in to despondency. But tell Me, my child, who has dared to wound your heart? Tell me about everything, be sincere in dealing with Me, reveal all the wounds of your heart. I will heal them, and your suffering will become a source of your sanctification.

Soul: Lord, my sufferings are so great and numerous and have lasted so long that I become discouraged.

Jesus: My child, do not be discouraged. I know your boundless trust in Me; I know you are aware of My goodness and mercy. Let us talk in detail about everything that weighs so heavily upon your heart.

Soul: There are so many different things that I do not know what to speak about first, nor how to express it.

Jesus: Talk to Me simply, as a friend to a friend. Tell Me now, My child, what hinders you from advancing in holiness?

Soul: Poor health detains me on the way to holiness. I cannot fulfill my duties. I am as useless as an extra wheel on a wagon. I cannot mortify myself or fast to any extent, as the saints did. Furthermore, nobody believes I am sick, so that mental pain is added to those of the body, and I am often humiliated. Jesus, how can anyone become holy in such circumstances?

Jesus: True, My child, all that is painful. But there is no way to heaven except the way of the cross. I followed it first. You must learn that it is the shortest and surest way.

Soul: Lord, there is another obstacle on the road to holiness. Because I am faithful to You, I am persecuted and suffer much.

Jesus: It is because you are not of this world that the world hates you. First it persecuted Me. Persecution is a sign that you are following in My footsteps faithfully.

Soul: My Lord, I am also discouraged because neither my superiors nor my confessor understand my interior trials. A darkness clouds my mind. How can I advance? All this discourages me from striving for the heights of sanctity.

Jesus: Well, My child, this time you have told Me a good deal. I realize how painful it is not to be understood, and especially by those whom one loves and with whom one has been very open. But suffice it to know that I understand all your troubles and misery. I am pleased by the deep faith you have, despite everything, in My representatives. Learn from this that no one will understand a soul entirely-that is beyond human ability. Therefore, I have remained on earth to comfort your aching heart and to fortify your soul, so that you will not falter on the way. You say that a dense darkness is obscuring your mind. But why, at such times, do you not come to Me, the light who can in an instant pour into your soul more understanding about holiness than can be found in any books? No confessor is capable of teaching and enlightening a soul in this way.

Know, too, that the darkness about which you complain I first endured in the Garden of Olives when My Soul was crushed in mortal anguish. I am giving you a share in those sufferings because of My special love for you and in view of the high degree of holiness I am intending for you in heaven. A suffering soul is closest to My Heart.

Soul: One more thing, Lord. What should I do when I am ignored and rejected by people, especially by those on whom I had a right to count in times of greatest need?

Jesus: My child, make the resolution never to rely on people. Entrust yourself completely to My will saying, “Not as I want, but according to Your will, O God, let it be done unto me.” These words, spoken from the depths of one’s heart, can raise a soul to the summit of sanctity in a short time. In such a soul I delight. Such a soul gives Me glory. Such a soul fills heaven with the fragrance of her virtue. But understand that the strength by which you bear sufferings comes from frequent Communions. So approach this fountain of mercy often, to draw with the vessel of trust whatever you need.

Soul: Thank You, Lord, for Your goodness in remaining with us in this exile as the God of mercy and blessing us with the radiance of Your compassion and goodness. It is through the light of Your mercy that I have come to understand how much You love me.

Source: saint-faustina.com/Diary/DMIMS29.shtml

 

[flyingfish]

You should research “The Problem of Evil”, a lot of thought has gone into this issue that you can’t really summarize in a forum post.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Problem_of_evil

Irenaean and Augustinian Theodicy

The church has adopted two main responses to the problem of evil and suffering: the Augustinian theodicy posited by St Augustine of Hippo (354 AD – 430), and Irenaean theodicy posited by Irenaeus (2nd century AD - c. 202).

Augustinian Theodicy

Augustinian theodicy focuses on the genesis story that essentially dictates that God created the world and that it was good; evil is merely a consequence of the fall of man (The story of the garden of eden where Adam disobeyed God and caused inherent sin for man). Augustine stated that natural evil (evil present in the natural world such as natural disasters etc) was a direct result of the fall of man, whereas moral evil (evil caused by the will of human beings) is as a result of man having become estranged from God and choosing to deviate from his chosen path. Augustine argued that God could not have created evil in the world, as it was created good, and that all notions of evil are simply a deviation or privation of goodness. Evil cannot be a separate and unique substance. For example, Blindness is not a separate entity, but is merely a lack or privation of sight. Thus the Augustinian theodicist would argue that the problem of evil and suffering is void because God did not create evil; it was man who chose to deviate from the path of perfect goodness.

This, however, poses a number of questions involving genetics: if evil is merely a consequence of our choosing to deviate from God’s desired goodness, then genetic disposition of ‘evil’ must surely be in God’s plan and desire and thus cannot be blamed on Man. Similarly, the idea of inherent sin because our forebearers committed some sin seems incompatible with the teachings in the bible. The Old Testament states “should the children’s teeth be set on edge because their fathers ate sour grapes?”[26]

Irenaean theodicy

Irenaean theodicy was first created by Irenaeus but has been reformulated into its current state by John Hick (born 1922). This is the belief and idea that one cannot achieve moral goodness or love for God if there is no evil and suffering in the world. Evil is soul-making and leads one to be truly moral and close to God. God created an Epistemic distance (Where God is not immediately knowable) so that we may strive to know him and by doing so become truly good. Evil is good for 3 main reasons:

1. Useful as a means of knowledge Hunger leads to pain, and causes a desire to feed. Knowledge of pain prompts humans to seek to help others in pain
2. Character Building Evil offers the opportunity to grow morally. “We would never learn the art of goodness in a world designed as a hedonistic paradise” Swinburne
3. A predictable Environment The world runs to a series of natural laws. These are independent of any inhabitants of the universe. Natural Evil only occurs when these natural laws conflict with our own perceived needs. This is not immoral in any way.

catholiceducation.org/articles/religion/re0019.html

Peter Kreeft article about it

 

[Langdell]

You’ve already received good answers to your hard questions. The only thing I would add is that it’s not over yet for anyone involved. God has all eternity to work out his justice for the perpetrators and the victims.
.

 

[K_C]

Excerpts from Divine Mercy In My Soul:
catholic-forum.com/churches/cathteach/divinemercy_suffering.htm
catholic-forum.com/churches/cathteach/divinemercy_sadness.htm

Eucharisted:

These are beautiful quotations, but I don’t see how they can be applied to a child who may never have been taught about God and who was so mistreated most of her life that she would have great cause to doubt His existence.

On the other hand, I am very grateful that you provided these links. I was familiar with the Divine Mercy devotion (and the chaplet), but not with St. Faustina’s diary. I had no idea that she had suffered so much. There were several points made that had a very special meaning (and, I think, message) for me. So, although I don’t think any of this would really be of much consolation to Jaycee, it certainly is to me. Thank you!

 

[K_C]

You should research “The Problem of Evil”, a lot of thought has gone into this issue that you can’t really summarize in a forum post.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Problem_of_evil

catholiceducation.org/articles/religion/re0019.html

Peter Kreeft article about it

Thank you for the links. I will certainly use them and read what is offered. However, the quotation you posted does not seem apt for someone like Jaycee either. Somehow intellectual approaches to the problem of evil do not seem adequate to address all the physical, emotional, and psychological trauma she experienced - all alone, for years.

I can only hope that there is at least one or two good books somewhere on the market which address this specific kind of case and which will be made available to this poor girl when the time is right for her to be able to concentrate on it.

As I said earlier, what really bothers me - besides Jaycee’s condition - is the question of how one who is so mentally deranged as was her abuser, or one who is emotionally incapable of feeling love, can ever attain heaven. How can one go to heaven to be eternally immersed in Love, when one is apparently incapable of experiencing the meaning of love here on earth?

 

[K_C]

You’ve already received good answers to your hard questions. The only thing I would add is that it’s not over yet for anyone involved. God has all eternity to work out his justice for the perpetrators and the victims.
.

Certainly true. But why should Jaycee (or others like her) even believe in God? She certainly has reason to reject the idea of a loving God, hasn’t she? If she is unable to reconcile her life with faith, will she be able to go to heaven despite living the remainder of her life without faith - or trust?

The other question is: Her abuser seems to be insane. (Who can say at what point his insanity began - before or after these despicable acts?) Is he, then, responsible for his acts (assuming he was insane before the abduction/s)? How does God respond to those who are insane or mentally ill? Is all their responsibility absolved because it was caused by original sin? Have they - or others who seem incapable of feeling pity or love (i.e. sociopaths) - any chance of going to heaven?

 

[Della]

What strikes me is this–we cannot know what God has in mind for anyone, not even ourselves, and certainly not for Jaycee, her daughters, her family or the perpetrator and his family. God is not a magic genie who prevents all evil from happening. When people decide to do evil things they do them–it’s why we all go to confession. What horrifies us so much is putting ourselves into other people’s shoes and then thinking we know what effect their experience has had or ought to have had on them. We cannot do this. Doing so is only projecting our own fears onto another person’s situation. It does nothing to help them and upsets us to no purpose.

We cannot know/determine what God should have done. We may never know why God doesn’t step into situations we find terrifying. One day we may know, but until God reveals it to us, we have to trust in our own lives that whatever comes our way, for good or ill, God is in it. To my mind the miraculous thing here is Jaycee is still alive. Most missing children taken by strangers end up dead. How she and her family now deal with her experience is up to them. We can certainly pray for them, but we cannot live their lives for them. We can only live our own, determined to help others as much as we can and be vigilant against those who would harm the innocent.

 

[K_C]

What strikes me is this–we cannot know what God has in mind for anyone, not even ourselves, and certainly not for Jaycee, her daughters, her family or the perpetrator and his family. God is not a magic genie who prevents all evil from happening. When people decide to do evil things they do them–it’s why we all go to confession. What horrifies us so much is putting ourselves into other people’s shoes and then thinking we know what effect their experience has had or ought to have had on them. We cannot do this. Doing so is only projecting our own fears onto another person’s situation. It does nothing to help them and upsets us to no purpose.

We cannot know/determine what God should have done. We may never know why God doesn’t step into situations we find terrifying. One day we may know, but until God reveals it to us, we have to trust in our own lives that whatever comes our way, for good or ill, God is in it. To my mind the miraculous thing here is Jaycee is still alive. Most missing children taken by strangers end up dead. How she and her family now deal with her experience is up to them. We can certainly pray for them, but we cannot live their lives for them. We can only live our own, determined to help others as much as we can and be vigilant against those who would harm the innocent.

“We cannot live their lives for them. We can only live our own…” Very true. All that you have said is most wise, Della. However, as I suspect is often the case with many CA posters, there are personal inferences in my concerns as well. We are admonished by CA admin to keep all discussions impersonal for a number of reasons, most very good ones. So I cannot say much by way of explanation, but I will say that Jaycee’s pain is felt by many other victims who have suffered in similar (if not as extensive) ways. Many of us have to know how to talk with these survivors. Some of us have the anguish of wondering if salvation has even been possible for a close relative or friend who has caused similar damage. (Unfortunately, these kinds of crimes against innocence are quite common and widespread in today’s society.)

In addiition to this, some of us are struggling to deal with terminal illness and that brings with it the apprehension which accompanies the possibility of the same kind of abandonment which Jaycee experienced. So, often when we pose such moral, psychological, and theological questions, we struggle not only with the objective case at hand, but with subjective ones as well. (“Do not ask for whom the bell tolls…it tolls for thee!”)

We certainly should pray for Jaycee and her family - and for each other. But, in the end, we all face the threat of abandonment, fractured lives (whether ours or those close to us), and an on-going battle with all the negative thoughts and feelings that come with crises that find some resonance in this poor girl’s life. However…as I said, all that you stated was also true and wise.

 

[KarenCatholic]

Dear KC,
Yes, it is such a tragic, horrible and unspeakable thing that has happened to dear Jaycee and her daughters! I think good people in this world are having a hard time just fitting this evil event into their heads! On outwards appearance the all the young ladies look beautiful, but I am sure their minds, sprits and souls are so broken that they need so much help (I pray that they get the best professional and spiritual help that they can find). Hopefully, with this help, they can enjoy the rest of their lives with support and love of their real family who are thankful and greatful to the law enforcement who did respond to that “nagging little voice” (that we all get from time to time to do the right thing) in her head to check out the situation of the young girls.What truly gets me the most is that when Jaycee was kidnapped that the law enforcement (when Jaycee was found they appologized to the family for not doing a good job) did not do enough to check out all the rapist and pedators in the area. It is like they “dropped the ball” and just let the case disappear.Then, later the neighbors who lived nearby knew that is was a weird setup but all turned their backs (like the story of the good samaritan). When one neighbor called the cops due to the wild partying, the cops went over to investigate and then just left. The “friends” of this man also notice something was not quite right about the situation of Jaycee and later daughters. The kidnapper saying that they were his “nieces”. That too should have been checked out. Later the kidnapper was in jail for raping another little girl. He served time (I think 7 years). The wife kept Jaycee there. The wife is evil, too. After his release, he was on the “sexual crime list” and with a click of a button, he would have shown up. We all would have thought that the law enforcement would perhaps have rechecked these “cold cases” more than one little girl was missing and women were missing for that area, too) due to the fact that there were almost 100 sexual criminals and on the list, too, in the same area.One living one mile down the street from the rapist. Going back to the smart lady officer, that is what she did, look on the computer’s sex crime list I am sorry this is a long letter. I just see so many people that was put into the path to help Jaycee and her beautiful daughters and did not. It seems like God sent these people to help (that nagging little voice I was talking about) but they turned their backs on Jaycee, daughters, and God. No one, except the lady Officer of recent, did the right thing and that is what is so sad in today’s society. It is OK to not MYOB sometimes in cases such as this. I think we all wish that God would just take away all the evil in this world. Satan, it looks like,is still at work with his evil people. I am still rooting for God with the help of his people. Take care and God Bless Jaycee daughters and her dear and loving family. They are finally re-united!

 

[K_C]

Karen,
You did a very good job of supplying an overview of this tragic case…and the fact that it was made even more tragic by the fact that so many people who might have intervened earlier did not. I think that this is a lesson to us all that God does want us to pay attention when our instincts tell us that “something is just not right”.

I also pray that Jaycee and her daughters will receive all the good counseling, love, and support they will be needing to adjust to a more normal life. Unfortunately, there are certain to be many hurdles along the pathway for them and for Jaycee’s parents and close family as more details about this case are eventually revealed. However, in the meantime, I hope that the media and everyone around this family will respect their need for privacy and not intrude upon them out of curiosity. Their healing will demand a proper distance and such respect from others as they will only be able to share the hurtful details after a long period of adjustment and healing.

Lately, during discussing this case, a few things have occurred to me:

In many of these cases, the public wonders why the victim did not try to escape. The reason is, of course, the threat of violence. However, the violence is often not only threatened towards the vicitim personally, but the perpetrator will often threaten harm to the victim’s family if she tries to escape. Yet, experience has proved that these threats are, for the large part, empty ones. Sexual predators do not usually enact violence upon the families of their victims.

I have to wonder just how we are preparing our children to defend themselves if they ever, God forbid, find themselves captive to such a monster. I do know that many schools now warn students to “never talk to strangers”. However, as we have seen, this precaution does little to protect from such brazen abductors. Shouldn’t we be also telling our children NEVER TO BELIEVE any threats made against their families by these predators? Shouldn’t we be teaching them to remain as calm as possible and then, when the abductor is distracted, to do something to draw attention from a passer-by who might help?

It occurred to me that Jaycee might have easily, during that eighteen-year captivity, written a note, explaining her identity and calling for help, put it into a small bottle, tube, etc. and just thrown it into the neighbor’s yard. HOWEVER, she was no doubt terrified and threatened as I just described.

WE MUST EDUCATE OUR CHILDREN TO NOT BELIEVE EMPTY THREATS AGAINST THEIR FAMILIES…OR LIES THAT CLAIM THAT THEY HAVE BEEN ABANDONED BY THEIR FAMILIES!

It is my deepest hope and prayer that such a program will soon be developed which, without overly frightening our children, will also prepare them to defend themselves if our worst nightmare becomes a reality for them.

 

[Della]

KC, you are the perfect person to get the ball rolling on an educational program such as you described because you have the passion for it, and perhaps have had some experience with this sort of dilemma.

I saw a police officer on a talk show telling the women in the audience to never believe what an abductor tells them, such as: “If you go with me I won’t hurt you” or “I know where your family lives and I’ll get them next” and that sort of thing. He’s only saying such things to get the victim to go along with his plans.

You’re so right. Children need to be better educated and we adults have to listen to our instincts when we suspect something isn’t quite right with a situation. You go girl!

 

[K_C]

Karen,

Thank you for your thoughtful response email. You have not allowed replies via email, however, so I am replying here within the thread.

I think your attempts to provide foster care are most admirable. I wish that I had been able to continue that special role myself, but circumstances forbid it.

What you mentioned about the horrors which Jaycee and her daughters may have witnessed and which may have silenced them - that they may have witnessed a murder or even two - is certainly a chilling consideration. I hope and pray that this was not the case. I had not even thought of that. But it has occurred to me that the two other girls mentioned may very well now be in the custody of other perverts, since one new report said that a neighbor reported hearing other men “partying” in that back yard.

This case is all so very sad and terrible! However, I hope that God will draw some good from it - specifically, that all of us, as parents and educators, will improve our skills in protecting our children and teaching them to protect themselves - and not to believe any lies which might be told to them by an abductor.

God help us and our children and may God have mercy on America and restore her to her former innocence and freedom soon!

 

[gferrer]

I can’t help wondering: Why did God allow so much suffering to go on for so long without providing any help to this innocent child? Where was her guardian angel? The angels of her own daughters?

How might we answer these questions if she were to address them to us? I find it very difficult to answer them for myself. How can we explain to such victims that God is merciful and just? How can we even expect them to grasp the meaning of love? In fact, when people are so badly abused that they are incapable of feeling anymore, if they cannot express love at all, how can they then go to heaven? (I am not now referring to Jaycee, but to all victims in general.)

If anyone here can offer any real insights to alleviate the pain so many of us now feel in our hearts for this poor girl, I would certainly appreciate hearing what can be offered. I find it all so distressing that a simple “it was not God’s will” just does not seem enough. Nor does it suffice to say that the “free will” of her captor justifies God’s* apparent* indifference. As you can see, this really has got me down.

You may want to check out the book The Doors of the Sea by David Bentley Hart. He addresses the problem of evil in the context of the Tsunami disaster of a few years back.

 

[JoanREDirector]

Just wanted to add my voice. I too am heartsick by this horrible story. May I suggest two sources of understanding and comfort.

The Old Testament
God’s own chosen people suffered in this way. The conqurers were NOT nice. Countless Jewish mothers saw their infants dashed on the rocks after which they and their poor little daughters were lead away into lifetimes of servitude. Naaman the leper and enemy commander was cured by bathing in the Jordan. It was his wife’s little Jewish slave girl who told him about the prophet Elisha. See 2Kings:5.

The psalms are full of laments from people who have suffered in this terrible way. The Holy Spirit allows them to grieve, wonder about God’s inscrutible ways, and cry out with a loud voice for justice upon their abusers. Read, read, read God’s holy Word.

Lives of the Saints
The story of Maria Goretti is one. Her story is not quite the same as Jaycee’s but the lesson of the power of Maria’s forgiveness is a good one. There are many other saints, some little known, some known only to God, who suffered and died like Jaycee.

The question is not, “How could God allow this?” but rather, “How could we allow this?”

 

[K_C]

You may want to check out the book The Doors of the Sea by David Bentley Hart. He addresses the problem of evil in the context of the Tsunami disaster of a few years back.

Thanks for the info. However, natural disasters are really a different discussion. My concern here is that this girl was *trained *into a distorted, immoral way of life. I think that an evil that happens in an instant is quite different from one which goes on for a long time - especially when it distorts the victim’s sense of what is good and evil, what is love or is not.

 

[K_C]

Just wanted to add my voice. I too am heartsick by this horrible story. May I suggest two sources of understanding and comfort.

The Old Testament
God’s own chosen people suffered in this way. The conqurers were NOT nice. Countless Jewish mothers saw their infants dashed on the rocks after which they and their poor little daughters were lead away into lifetimes of servitude. Naaman the leper and enemy commander was cured by bathing in the Jordan. It was his wife’s little Jewish slave girl who told him about the prophet Elisha. See 2Kings:5.

The psalms are full of laments from people who have suffered in this terrible way. The Holy Spirit allows them to grieve, wonder about God’s inscrutible ways, and cry out with a loud voice for justice upon their abusers. Read, read, read God’s holy Word.

Lives of the Saints
The story of Maria Goretti is one. Her story is not quite the same as Jaycee’s but the lesson of the power of Maria’s forgiveness is a good one. There are many other saints, some little known, some known only to God, who suffered and died like Jaycee.

The question is not, “How could God allow this?” but rather, “How could we allow this?”

You make some very good points. I had not considered the implications of slavery for the Jewish women. I do not see the connection between our topic and Naaman, but I certainly am aware of St. Maria Goretti and I will read the psalms. However, did anyone mentioned in the psalms have immorality and evil inculcated by their oppressors from childhood? I think Jaycee’s case is quite different as far as the implications for her *future *life.

As for “How could we allow this?”…it is obvious that “we” did not allow it. No sane, civil person would approve such horrors. It was the free will choice of Jaycee’s captors. Now one could make an argument that particular social workers allowed it by their negligence - or that neighbors allowed it inadvertently. However, I draw the line at trying to intimidate all of society for the sins and crimes of a few. While such crimes undoubtedly thrive within a society made weak by both actual and original sin, I do not believe that everyone can be held accountable for such specific acts against the innoncent. Just as they say that “guns don’t commit crimes, people do”, you might just as well say “society doesn’t commit crimes, individuals do”.

 

[Matrix_Refugee]

If anyone here can offer any real insights to alleviate the pain so many of us now feel in our hearts for this poor girl, I would certainly appreciate hearing what can be offered. I find it all so distressing that a simple “it was not God’s will” just does not seem enough. Nor does it suffice to say that the “free will” of her captor justifies God’s* apparent* indifference. As you can see, this really has got me down.

Trust me, you are not alone in feeling this way. I’ve gotten chewed out for being angry about this horrible case, but this anger is justified. I think not being angry about this case is worse than being angry about it, and I have good reasons for being angry, not just because of the enormity of what happened, but because the anger comes from personal experience: I have a close loved one who was molested at the age of four by her own father, who pretty much used all her sisters (and some of her brothers) the same way.

I agree with the posters who suggested the police “dropped the ball” on this case. I don’t know what the answer is, but we need to start taking better care of our kids so things like this don’t have to happen. Maybe it’s as simple as putting chips in our kids so they can be tracked somehow, the way some people do with pets in case they get lost or stolen. Maybe we need to put GPS ankle bracelets on them like they had to do with a severely autistic kid in my area, who kept running off into the woods and getting lost. Maybe we need to start executing repeat sex offenders, so they can’t hurt any more people; I personally think rape and/or molestation is worse than murder or homicide, because the victim has to live with the pain of the rape or the molestation for the rest of their life, and I can tell you from watching the sufferings of my loved one who was molested, that pain eats into the fabric of a person’s self or view of their self.

 

[K_C]

Trust me, you are not alone in feeling this way. I’ve gotten chewed out for being angry about this horrible case, but this anger is justified. I think not being angry about this case is worse than being angry about it, and I have good reasons for being angry, not just because of the enormity of what happened, but because the anger comes from personal experience: I have a close loved one who was molested at the age of four by her own father, who pretty much used all her sisters (and some of her brothers) the same way.

I agree with the posters who suggested the police “dropped the ball” on this case. I don’t know what the answer is, but we need to start taking better care of our kids so things like this don’t have to happen. Maybe it’s as simple as putting chips in our kids so they can be tracked somehow. Maybe we need to put GPS ankle bracelets on them like they had to do with a severely autistic kid in my area, who kept running off into the woods and getting lost. Maybe we need to start executing repeat sex offenders, so they can’t hurt any more people; I personally think rape and/or molestation is worse than murder or homicide, because the victim has to live with the pain of the rape or the molestation for the rest of their life, and I can tell you from watching the sufferings of my loved one who was molested, that pain eats into the fabric of a person’s self or view of their self.

I agree almost completely, MR. I’ve also seen close-hand what this sort of victimization does to the victim and it is devastating. I think that we need better programs to educate our kids - especially warning them to never believe the lies an abductor might tell them in order to control them. I think we should also hold accountable any social workers who fail to do their jobs thoroughly when investigating sex offenders. (They never did really look into that deep back yard where Jaycee was held.) However, I draw the line at microchipping our children. There is far too much danger of such devices being used against them in the future. In fact, many people believe that the government will try to sell us all on this technology using arguments about predators, foreign agents who might be terrorists, etc. Yet, knowing the usual human desire for power, it is easy to foresee how tracking devices might be used to control and repress ordinary citizens at some time in the future.

Other than microchipping, I agree with all you feel and say.