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Watts pleaded guilty to class C felony statutory rape in the first degree with a person less than 14 years old,
Watts was charged in September 2009; according to an incident report from Slater police, Watts said he did not know how old the victim was and did not ask.
Testifying at the sentencing hearing Monday, the victim's mother said the incident had been "devastating" to her family, and asked the judge to impose the maximum sentence of five years to life imprisonment.
More about the SOA program can be found at the link below.
Contact Kathy Fairchild at marshallhealth@socket.net
On the Net:
http://doc.mo.gov/division_rehab.php.
Related story:
Slater man charged with statutory rape:
www.marshallnews.com/story/1573409.html
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jaccee, my comments were not directed at you or anyone else personally or at anyone's specific children. I'm chose to say "almost" to leave open the possibility that such parents and such children do exist. But, you must admit, the statistics are strongly on my side, sad as that is. No one should be laughing, and I assure you that I am not.
Jaccee -
I don't think Miss Marple necessarily disbelieves you specifically, however, unfortunately, the statistics speak for themselves.
The sad truth is that many kids don't save themselves for marriage, and many parents delude themselves into thinking that their kids aren't having sex. The combination leads to many preventable problems: STDs and teen pregnancy.
I hope you're right, and that your kids are saving themselves for marriage - kudos to you AND them if they are! But I hope you don't preach abstinence only to them. I hope that they know what precautions to take if they change their mind and they don't tell you about it.
Having an open dialogue with your kids about sex & protection is the best thing a parent can do!
Why is it so hard to believe there some children who are raised to respect their bodies and themselves enough to remain untouched until marriage. I seriously take offense to that. Not ALL GIRLS lay down for any boy and SOME boys are raised to respect ladies and not put that kind of pressure on them. And yet they are the ones who are made fun of. THAT is what is wrong with this world.
One thing I know for certain - parents who think they know that their children (male or female) are virgins are almost always wrong. It's nice they believe that and it probably helps them sleep at night, but the fact is that a parent can only HOPE their children are not sexually active. The statistics on teen pregnancy and the high incidence of STD's among teenagers suggests that most parents are living in a dream world. Kudos to the kids who are smart enough to know it's a bad idea to become sexually active at an early age, even greater kudos to those who actually make abstinence a reality for themselves.
If the boy was 17 years old and the girl was under the age of 14, then the girl could have been a very little child and the boy should be put in prison! The judge knew all of the facts and judged accordingly.I agree that alot of people neglect to teach their children and the parent's are at fault. I have known children from nice families that go to church every Sunday and act to their parents "all innocent" and the parents beleive their children "DO NO WRONG" and the kids sneak around and aren't as innocent as the parents think! It's always some other kids fault that "THE GOOD PARENT'S" child did something they shouldn't have done,or they just didn't do it some other kid did.There has been police officer's kids, judge's kids, doctor's kids, preacher's kids, ect. committed crimes.
Jaccee -
I agree, the boy is always the one that gets the blame. How many times have you seen a boy convicted of rape for getting a girl (sometimes the same age as he) pregnant, but nothing ever happens to the girl? Many times, neither are of age to consent. It always ends up a tragic tale....
1. How many children I have and their genders are not relevant to my point, so I choose not to answer.
2. The "boys" are not always to blame. In the event a 17 year old woman had sex with a 12 or 13 year old boy I would expect her to be prosecuted exactly the same way. 3. I am not saying your son is ugly, smelly or a homo (although if he is you have my sincere apology). I am saying that you are likely kidding yourself as to his chastity. A meager attempt at levity I admit, but I can't help my warped sense of humor.
OMG,
I never said my children were perfect. As I said before we are not here to discuss my children and their faults. And how dare you to call my son ugly or smelly or worse yet a homo just because he is a virgin. I will pray for you ignorance. You will never get it. Sex maybe everywhere but it is because of the ignorance of people like you because you choose not to correct your kids.
Two questions you fail to answer
Do you have any boys????
Why is the boy always to blame??????????
OMG -
This is a tragic situation, no matter how it is looked at. The 17 yr old is a CHILD. He is not an adult that is allowed to smoke, drink, quit school or join the army. In some states, he's not even allowed to consent to sex, either. And now, he'll spend the first 7 years of his adulthood incarcerated, and the rest of his life wearing a scarlet letter due to our ridiculous sex offender laws.
The young girl is more tragic. Either she was raped without consent (which is awful) or she did consent, which makes her horribly misguided. No one should be blaming her in either case, but she'll have to live with what has happened for the rest of her life.
There is no win to this situation. How awful.
OMG,
Two of my daughters are grown and remained pure until the day they married. Why? Because their father and I, along with the Church, taught them morals and values. It is something called "PARENTING". Our oldest son just turned 20 and remains a virgin. But this is not about my children it is about people learning to be parents and if my daughter was caught once with a boy unsupervised she would have lost all privileges for a very long time whether she liked it or not. As a parent it is my job to parent and know what is best for my children. I am not here to be their friend.
OMG,
You still have not answered the question....do you have any boys???
wow and i always wondered why slater girls get the nic name they got, example right here. it's really sad to see so many young children out there getting into these kind of things. then there are children raising children
* Be it a parent of a 14 yearold girl, or a 17 yearold boy. They both failed.
OMG, In reference to your comment about abstaining in this century, that attitude is irresponsible. I have a 17 year old daughter will be 18 in July. I am very proud to say that she has turned out to be a very responsible young woman. She is abstaining, and has her priorities in order. Its called good parenting. You have to be IN your childs life in order to raise them to be responsible adults. Its not the 'century' that makes a parent fail or succeed, its the parent that makes that decision - be it a 14 year old girl or a 17 year old boy.
Oh and Jaccee, get back to me when your kids are adults and let me know how the whole abstinence until marriage thing worked out for you in this century.
moodyblue,
Is there really that much difference between 16 and 17 in a child?? I think not.
I want to know how many parents are explaining to their girls that they are not of age until 17 to give consent and if they do the boy will be punished for it??? And cfour is right, there are 12 and 13 yr olds having babies....who should be held responsible in that case?? The PARENT! And they should be charged the minute a doctor becomes aware of the pregnancy. I know for fact of girls 14 that are out there enticing 16 yr old boys.... the schools know and the parents know it...they are BOTH underage but the law goes after the boy and THAT is sexual discrimination! How many 16 or 17 yr old boys think about how old a girl is?? I have seen some 14 yr old girls that look 18 or 19 simply because they go through puberty sooner than boys.... Society has got to wake up and see it is not always the boys fault.
Why are people on these posts stating the suspect was 16...if he was this case would have been in juvenile court. Why are people trying to say she was 14 when it clearly states a person under the age of 14. A juvenile cant consent to anything, I agree with OMG at what age are you all saying a juvenile can give consent. The law clearly give the age and its 17. Stop trying to defend a criminal act by blaming everyone else for the actions of the criminal. Watts stated himself that he didn't know how old she was and didn't ask. Knowing how small Slater is he knew very well how old she was and it clearly wasn't 14 or older.
OMG,
You are missing the point completely. It is very obvious you have no 16 yr old BOYS or you would think twice about this. I have three daughters and four boys so I can see both sides but I can also say I know where my kids are and what they are doing. I, as a parent, have also taught them about sex and how it is meant to be saved until marriage so in this case they are both wrong but why should he be punished when she gave consent? And by the way, he doesnt even look like a man!
Oh and BTW, you CAN put them all in jail. Because sooner or later these "boys" will figure out that having sex with children will put you in prison and may just decide it's not worth it.
Again...where were HIS parents? I keep hearing the same old excuses, but it doesn't change the fact that this is not a BOY and what he did is a FELONY. So should parents not let their child go outside alone ever now in order to pass your standards? Parents do not expect to have adult men willing to allow a CHILD less than 13 or 14 "lay down" with him hanging around waiting for an opportunity. So, how young is too young to "consent" then? By your arguments an 8 year old could "consent" with a 20 year old. Nothing wrong with that right...she "wanted it" after all. Let's not hold the poor criminal accountable, instead let's get on the blogs and slam the victim and her family. Maybe then people would just stop reporting those pesky sex offenses in order to protect that child from further humiliation. That will make things SOOO much better.
Yes i do think its too bad that this boys life basically over, im from Slater and i know for a fact that this boy was not from Slater him and his mother moved from Kansas City to Slater for maybe a better chance at life but look at what happend, maybe this boy didnt really know how old she was and she lied to him its not always the BOYS fault at all, she LAID DOWN with him didnt she and she should know better and the police was questioning another litle boy too for the same incedent too becasue of this little girl she is old enough to know better as far as her parents yes they should be blaimed too becasue they are letting their child run the street and walk around town all day with little boys and now look at what happen, im not saying that what he did wasnt wrong but lets look at this little girl too!and maybe her parents need to get her some help too!
if the parents were not so wrapped up in their own life then this stuff wouldn't happen.the boy got the blame, not right at all she knew what she was doing as well.where was her parents at when this was going on?this will not be the last.
where was the mom when this was going on?she was not watching her.she should be in jail to,for child neglect her self. i bet this is not the first boy or will not be the last. slater is too small to not know what is going on. parents need to watch their kids better. the kids should come first, before work and what ever else you have going on in your life............then this stuff wouldn't be happening.you can't put them all in jail.
Can you really say a 16 and a half yr old boy is a man?? And yes the parents should always know where a 14 yr old is. If the state can old a parent responsible for a teenager not going to school then they should be held responsible here as well. Do you have children?? If you can't smoke legally and you can't vote then I don't think you are an adult. Just tell me why the boys are always blamed??
You know what? I am sick and tired of the people on here blaming the VICTIM'S parents for a crime comitted on their child by an ADULT. You want to blame parents? Where are the parents of these PERPETRATORS? I will hope that those of you who feel it is necessary to rake these poor people over the coals NEVER have your child taken advantage of by someone in this manner. I will also pray if it DOES happen that no anonymous embicile adds insult to your injury as has been done here and on another story this paper did recently. The parents here and in the other story obviously took action as soon as they found out what was going on. To act like they should have psychic powers to have known sooner, or are horrible parents for not possessing a crystal ball is inexcusable. The penalties for statutory rape are not a state secret. Also, let's get it straight. These are not BOYS, they are MEN...which incidentally is why their actions are illegal.
auntmeme3401,
I agree with you and I think they were both underage. And he could not have been that much over the age of 16. There are indeed many young girls out there that initiate sexual relations and yes even 12, 13, and 14 yr olds. Add that to the fact girls mature 2-3 years faster than boys and these kids were basically the same age mentally. I really am sick of everyone blaming young boys for all it. Where were her parents???
As horrible as this is this boy's life is ruined. Where were the PARENTS? They want to say the this has destroyed their lives! What about the BOY'S. If we as parents let our children run the streets and do not educate them about dangers , how to protect themselves. Then we have failed!When I was growing -up we were not allowed to run wild and my parents good bad or indifferent did know where we were at ,with who and made sure there was supervision. There is enopugh blame here to go around. But from experincxe I know many girls these days are putting and persueing older guys then we want to hang them for what the girls intended to happen all the time. The law may say he is a adult at 17 but he is not and should not ruin the rest of his life