I believe the accusations, but I see it from a different angle than most of the answers I’ve read so far.
Coming from an abuse background and reading about Ms. Corfman’s troubled past and account of what happened all ring true to me. After the event her life went sideways. She had a string of troubled relationships. There was also a suicide attempt. These are all symptomatic of someone who has met with sexual abuse (not exclusively, of course. There’s a laundry list of things that can signal that there’s been abuse).
What drove it all home was her description of what happened. Her statement is laced with the sort of shame an abuse survivor carries. I recognize it all too well.
Some of the other women who came forward have also stated how they at first felt flattered by the attention of an older man. That’s how many predators (male or female) work their victims. Honey draws more flies… It’s a subtle form of coercion where a predator leverages their life experiences against a much younger victim who has a much smaller tool box to work with. (They also stated how they felt weird about it as they got older)
I get sick of the apologists saying that they can’t believe the charges because they happened 40 years ago, and why haven’t they come forward sooner? While I envy the charmed life these apologists must have lead, they have no idea what they are talking about. I read the perfect quote recently, but I don’t know who to attribute it to. But for the apologists: “You are not entitled to your opinion. You don’t just jump out one day - especially when you’re that young - and tell everyone you’ve been abused. The insidious way he perpetrated his abuse more than likely made them feel as if it was something they had done, something that was their own fault. Those thoughts only grow and become more engrained with time. The victim only grows to accept that they are the one who is perverse and broken.
The corroborating evidence is damning as well. The mothers. The mall security and police officers. All of the people he worked with.
And what do the apologists say? They know his heart. They trust his moral compass to do the right thing. It’s a cultural thing…
They should stop lying. Just tell it like it is: you’d vote for him even if it had been your teenage daughter he took advantage of. You lack the spirit and the spine it takes to be a decent human being. You don’t understand anything more than party allegiance.
No one should expect perfection in anyone - much less a politician. But a known pedophile? SERIOUSLY? That’s not a sound mind at work.
Yes, he should be charged with the sexual assault of a minorHow about undressing and fondling a 14 year old?
McConnell is not the only one.thehill.com
McConnell doesn’t get to play Roy Moore’s judge, jury and political executioner
The current Alabama U.S. Senate campaign has abandoned any concept of fairness.
Where has anyone here argued against the rule of law?Paul Shanley. I left out the term “Father” because he’s been laicized. Look him up.
You are projecting again.Shanley committed his crimes in the seventies. No one would say that those crimes were so long ago. Decades passsed before his crime and conviction.
Lack of consent.
(a) Whether or not specifically stated, it is an element of every offense defined in this article, with the exception of subdivision (a)(3) of Section 13A-6-65, that the sexual act was committed without consent of the victim.
(b) Lack of consent results from:
(1) Forcible compulsion; or
(2) Incapacity to consent; or
(3) If the offense charged is sexual abuse, any circumstances, in addition to forcible compulsion or incapacity to consent, in which the victim does not expressly or impliedly acquiesce in the actor’s conduct.
(c) A person is deemed incapable of consent if he is:
(1) Less than 16 years old; or
(2) Mentally defective; or
(3) Mentally incapacitated; or
(4) Physically helpless.
That does not need any interpretation. If you are an adult, in your 30’s, and you are a lawyer, your are mentally deficient if you even consider trying to date any teenager. So no, I don’t have to believe the allegations, I believe Mr. Moore. He is once again, unfit for service.
Her mother—no father? Was he targeting girls who didn’t have fathers at home?Without a doubt, because he hung himself with his own rope. That is, he said he never dated a girl without her mother’s permission.
Her mother—no father? Was he targeting girls who didn’t have fathers at home?
I can’t help recalling that this was the M.O. of some pedophile Catholic priests. They zeroed in on large families headed by single mothers, because the mothers were so overwhelmed with all their responsibilities that the priest who offered to “take Johnny for ice cream” seemed like a godsend.
Also, there’s the fact that he admitted asking a parent at all. Why would he need a parent’s permission unless the girl was underage?
If you want to delve into it, Shanley was convicted at the time and sentenced. I expect he would have continued to break the law if he was not put away.I was explaining why I brought him up.
And that is the brunt of it. And that is why the “Harvey Weinstein” effect is so important. It has empowered these women to come out from behind their shame and potential ridicule. These women should be applauded for their courage.Because victims are treated as suspect. Because victims feel shame.
Nothing wrong with a grown man actually comforting a child or teen,The story about the 14 year old he met at court and offered to sit with while her mom went to a hearing breaks my heart.
She was vulnerable and a child.
He was a grown man with no business around children.