" " Perhaps a few more cases of Coles County Justice for sex crimes?
---------------------

George R. Arthur, 39, of Mattoon, pleaded guilty to a charge of aggravated criminal sexual abuse alleging he fondled a 15-year-old girl sometime during June.

He was placed on probation for four years and must participate in the sex offenders program at the Coles County Mental Health Center. He must also have no contact with children under the age of 17.
--------------------------

Man gets probation for sexual abuse
CHARLESTON -- A Mattoon man has been sentenced to the maximum term of probation, four years, for the criminal sexual abuse charge to which he pleaded guilty in August.

Raymond N. Arthur, 21, 2102 Champaign Ave. Apt. B, received the sentence last week for having a 6-year-old girl fondle him between January and May of this year.

Arthur was ordered to participate in sex offender treatment programs offered by the Coles County Mental Health Center. In addition, he must pay for any counseling that the girl might require.

He must also have no contact with the girl, stay away from schools and other child care facilities and not possess any pornography. Six months in jail was stayed pending his progress.

Court records indicate that Arthur had no prior criminal convictions. He could have received a prison sentence of three to seven years.
----------------------

CHARLESTON - A Mattoon man who admitted fondling a girl was sentenced on Thursday to the maximum term of probation.

Richard W. Beckler, 39, 4808 Lake Paradise Road Lot 27, was placed on probation for his conviction for aggravated criminal sexual abuse. He pleaded guilty in September to the charge that accused him of fondling the girl on April 16, and a charge of indecent solicitation of a child was dismissed.

Records show that Beckler's only prior conviction was for a misdemeanor bad-check charge. Terms of his probation sentence included no contact with the girl or anyone under the age of 17 without supervision and a requirement that he not live near a school or other child care facility.

Six months of jail time was stayed, meaning Beckler won't have to serve it if he follows all his probation requirements, and he was also fined $200. Victim was 12.
------------------------------

No wonder you are all scared for your children!
"

" Is it Shoot or Shook? "

" "The judge also ordered Shoot into sex offender treatment as well as alcohol abuse treatment, and to write a letter of apology to each of the victims."

Now that is some stiff sentence...NOT "

" What a slap in the face to the poor victims here. How pathetic. You know that if one of the victims was related to the Judge or someone they knew then he would have gone to prison. How Sad. I hope that these girls have gotten some help and have been able to move on with their lives. I think his letters of apology should be published in the paper. "

" I think the judge should write them a letter of apology. "

" Hasn't Coles County figured out that child molestors CAN'T be rehabilitated? They've tried for years but it NEVER goes away. Probation is just letting them go to rape another child! SHAME ON YOU Coles County and thank you 85 for the information. These pervs don't need to be out hurting our children and our courts need to make sure they're not. It's what they are paid for. Stop being so lenient on child molestors! They are dangerous and sick pervs that CANNOT be so-called rehabilitated. Get them OFF our streets! "

" If he did it at that age, you better believe he did it at a younger age too. Once a molester, always a molester. "

" Just wondering, 85CHSGrad, since you seem to have at your disposal a number of court case references, would you compile a summary of all the outcomes of sex abuse cases in Coles County over the last, say, ten years? The reason I suggest this is you seem to think you’re onto something here, in an anecdotal sense, but it's only fair to have the case statistics to back up your allegations directed against the 5th Circuit and all who work within it. You’re trying to create an illusion of a ‘lenient court’, but you may be permanently damaging public confidence that our system does work almost all of the time. It’s nearly impossible for the State to present evidence in these cases without exposing young victims of sexual abuse to even more trauma via cross examination. (Have you ever witnessed a defense attorney ruthlessly grill a minor on the stand? That process is unbelievably cruel, but the defense attorney has an obligation to defend his/her client.) I’m not disagreeing with your stance that sexual abusers seem to escape a more fitting punishment (public stoning or a large SA branded deep into their forehead comes to mind), but don’t denigrate our entire 5th Circuit in a dishonest attempt to get your guy elected. "

" so you're an expert on child molesters now, becky? what university is your psychology degree from? you must have one, to be able to say that no offenders can be rehabilitated. "

" pj,
.The extent to which the recidivism rates of child molesters decreases with age is unknown. Given that most antisocial behaviour declines with age, it is likely that the sexual recidivism rates of child molesters would similarly decline. It is possible, however, that the decline could be minimal. Extrafamilial child molesters are the sexual offenders most likely to have deviant sexual preferences (Marshall, 1997). The presence of such deviant sexual preferences may contribute to a sustained level of risk well into late adulthood. "

" Yes pj, I am an expert on child molestation. You see, I was a victim...repeatedly by several men ranging from a teenager to old pervs. I hold absolutely NO MERCY for anyone who does this to children. If they didn't think it was wrong, they wouldn't hide it from society. It's premeditated from the start and it damages the child for much of his/her life. Probation is NOT harsh enough...period! As far as therapy working, many molesters agree it works to keep it under control but the urge is always still there. They admit that themselves. Jail time is needed in ALL of these cases. We all know what happens to them in jail. It's one of the most convincing deterrents for molesters once they are out. "

" Tom Andres, one case ending with such a result, is too many. Looks to me, like you have an interest in defending such a lenient courthouse.

85CHSGrad has exposed a number of issues with our Courthouse and Legal System. If you think going back ten years makes any difference, and you think it is so important, go look up the 10 years yourself.
"

" Why defend these creeps? "

" Hey, wait a minute there, MommyDayCare, don't put me in the position of defending an unfair premise. I was just saying that it seems to me that, without citing the facts and without acknowledging the existence of very complex, very sensitive mitigating circumstances in these cases, 85CHSGrad is unfairly painting the 5th Circuit with too broad a brush. Anyone can cite anecdotal crap any day of the week. I think that as long as he's trying to destroy someone's professional reputation, the very least he should do is tell the whole story. Sounds like you'd rather play 'drama queen' than to insist on facts - kinda like 85CHSGrad does!


"

" krusayda, I hope you're NOT referring to me 'defending these creeps'! I have never done that and I never will. I have zero tolerance for any of this. Like I said in my previous post, a more fitting punishment for these perverts would be "public stoning or a large SA branded deep into their forehead". And I'm dead serious about that. Please be more careful with your accusations, especially if you're going to post on here anonymously. You can say anything you want on here and you have nothing to lose, but I use my real name, so please don't toss around empty-headed slanderous remarks. Perhaps you should review the 'Comment Policy'.

"

" Well said, Becky. I agree. I was molested as well, but mine was by a family member prone to drink. There should be no lieniency for these perverts. "

" Becky, I respect your opinion and I certainly understand your need for anonymity on this topic. In fact, that's one of the points I was trying to make when I was referring to the 5th Circuit actions, or sometimes lack of actions, on this issue. There are times when their hands are tied. To protect the children from further trauma and total humiliation, it's sometimes necessary to keep them off the witness stand. I've seen defense attorneys at work in the courtroom attacking children – to say they are vicious would be a gross understatement! I wouldn't put my own child through that process, and I understand why many parents refuse to do it. Unfortunately, no matter how heinous the criminal, he/she does have a right to meet the accuser. I hate to say it, but in reality, there are times when the accused is actually innocent. If I were a member of law enforcement or the judicial system, this would be the absolute worst set of circumstances to either defend or to prosecute. No one wins! "

" Tom A, you make some good points, one would think the entire system was broken, if you listened to Chas grad85, and that it was entirely the fault of the current states attorney. Thankfully most people, such as yourself, see through his nonsense.
"

" oooooh...letters of apology.....harsh. I have vivid memories of what was done to me that I cannot go a day without thinking about that ugliness. As far as I am concerned, the only way the letter of apology would suffice is if the ink were comprised of his blood. At the very least, he should pay for the lifetime of therapy the victims are going to need. "

" Thank you, Harry, I appreciate your comments. I tell you, when you're using your real name on here, topics like this one can be a little scary to address. One thing I'm absolutely sure of, NONE of the folks on the bench in Charleston or in the SA office or in any other level of law enforcement in this county are in the business of cutting sex abusers a break! Once again, I'm shocked that some of these slanderous statements are accepted by the site monitor. "

" becky, i'm sorry for what happened to you but that doesn't make you an expert. to say "once a child molester, always a child molester" is not true.

Overall, follow-up studies typically find sexual recidivism rates of 10%-15% after five years, 20% after 10 years, and 30%-40% after 20 years (see, Hanson, Morton, & Harris, 2003).

The total sex-related recidivism rate, including technical violations of
supervision conditions, was 11.0%.

Paroled Sex offenders completing basic sex offender programming (level 1)
while incarcerated appeared to have a somewhat lower recidivism rate than those who did not have programming. This was true both for recidivism of any type(33.9% with programming recidivated compared with 55.3% without
programming) and sex-related recidivism (7.1% with programming recidivated compared with 16.5% without programming).

One research project looked at 61 previous studies of sexual recidivism using a 4-5 year follow up period. This research on sex offenders found that 13.4% recidivated with a sexual offence, 12.2% recidivated with a non-sexual, violent offence and 36.6% recidivated with any other offence.

so according to that last one, even if you go with the highest recidivism rate, almost 2/3 of offenders do NOT re-offend. kinda blows your statement out of the water.

"It's premeditated from the start and it damages the child for much of his/her life" are you, yourself a child molester? then how do you know how they think? and it doesn't have to "damage a child for much of their life" get them therapy if theywant it and let them move on. moving on is the most important part. otherwise they'll develop a "woe is me" attitude and blame the abuse for everything that goes wrong in their lives. "

" Don't have time to list them all, but if you think it isn't common practice giving probation for child molesting in Coles County...Think Again!!!
------------------
Also in court this week: - Anthony Duane Bell, 25, of Humboldt was sentenced to two years in prison, followed by four years of probation for his conviction for criminal sexual assault, manufacture of a controlled substance and possession of a controlled substance. Bell pleaded guilty in July, admitting that he engaged in a sex act with a 2-year-old girl on Jan. 23, that he had prescription painkillers when he was arrested for that offense two days later and that he had methamphetamine on May 17. Police documents in Bell's case indicate he admitted to the sexual assault but claimed he was angry and accidentally committed an act of penetration on the girl while changing her diaper. Terms of his probation, which will start upon his parole from prison, included paying for any counseling the girl might need, no contact with child, counseling and fines and contributions to social agencies totaling $610. Victim 2 yrs old.
------------------------------

A Mattoon man who had pleaded guilty to sexual conduct with a young girl was placed on probation for four years with orders to pay for the victim's counseling.

David S. Dennington, 37, 213 Woodlawn Ave., pleaded guilty last month to a charge of aggravated criminal sexual abuse in exchange for the dismissal of more serious charges.

He admitted engaging in the conduct with the girl sometime during the past year. He must do a year of work-release jail time as part of his probation.

Others terms included orders to undergo mental health treatment, to have no contact with children under the age of 17, and to pay fines totaling $610. Victim was 9 yrs. old.
---------------------------------

a Charleston man received the maximum term of probation, four years, for aggravated criminal sexual abuse charges.

Dennis G. Morgan, 39, who listed an address of 505 N. Division St., Lot 44, entered a negotiated guilty plea to charges accusing him of fondling a girl and having her fondle him during February.

Terms of Morgan's sentence including mental health treatment and no contact with anyone under the age of 17.

He must also serve a 180-day jail sentence, though he received credit for 95 days already served. Six months of home confinement was stayed pending his progress on other probation terms.
--------------------------

A Mattoon man must undergo a sexual offender's treatment program after he admitted Monday that he sexually abused a teen-age girl last month.

Dewayne L. Ethington, 27, 1312 Lafayette Ave. Apt. 6, entered a negotiated plea of guilty to a misdemeanor charge of criminal sexual abuse and was placed on probation for two years.

A felony charge of aggravated criminal sexual abuse against Ethington, who chose not to have an attorney represent him, was dismissed in exchange for his plea.

Ethington must also have no contact with the 15-year-old girl he was accused of fondling on Feb. 12, and pay $210 in fines. Thirty days in jail were stayed pending his progress. 15-year-old girl!
----------------------------

CHARLESTON -- A man who admitted fondling a teen-age girl was sentenced last week to the maximum term of probation. Gary E. Good, 50, 3104 N. County Road 330E, Charleston, was placed on probation for 30 months for the criminal sexual abuse charge to which he pleaded guilty in July. Good admitted that he fondled the girl on Dec. 14 when she was under the age of 18. A more serious charge of aggravated criminal sexual abuse was dismissed when he pleaded guilty. He was ordered to undergo counseling, including sex offender treatment, and to pay $1,110 in fines. Good was also sentenced to three months in jail with an additional three months of jail time stayed pending his progress. Good could have received a prison sentence of one to three years for the offense. The dismissed charge could have resulted in a three- to seven-year prison term or up to four years of probation. Victim was 13 years old.
----------------------------------

Police arrested Jeffrey F. Flenner, 39, of Mattoon at 3:36 p.m. Tuesday for failure to register a change of address as required by sex offender compliance statutes.

Flenner, a registered sex offender in Coles County, allegedly stayed at various motels in Mattoon while failing to comply with registration through the Mattoon Police Department. Flenner was sentenced to 30 months probation in 1992. Victim was 11 yrs. old.
--------------------------------------

Jimmy S. Derixson, 22, 2008 Champaign Ave., pleaded guilty to reduced charges of aggravated criminal sexual abuse alleging he fondled a girl and had her and a boy fondle one another on May 2. At that time, the girl was 5 years old, and the boy was 4 years old.

The original charges were counts of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child that accused Derixson of engaging in intercourse with the girl and forcing her and the boy into intercourse as well.

A conviction of those offenses would have required a prison sentence of six to 30 years. 5 year prison sentence! Not even close to enough time!
------------------------------------

Rickie L. Craig, 26, who listed an address of 3221 Marshall Ave., was also ordered to serve four years on probation once he's released from his six-year prison sentence.

Craig pleaded guilty on March 1 to charges of aggravated criminal sexual abuse alleging he fondled the girls, had one of them fondle him and exposed himself to both. At the time he entered the plea, there was no agreement on the sentence he would receive.

Records indicated that he has several prior criminal convictions, including a conviction of a similar offense in Indiana, where he received prison time.

Craig was recommended Wednesday for the Illinois Department of Correction's sex offender treatment program.

Under the terms of his probation, Craig must pay for any counseling that the two girls might need. One of the victims was 4 yrs old!
---------------------------
Patrick C. White, 40, 812 N. 34th St., Mattoon, received the maximum probation term of four years for the sexual abuse charges to which he pleaded guilty in July.

White was accused of touching and harassing three girls, ages 12, 9 and 8, while they were outside his residence on May 9.

Just another Judicial Joke!!! I believe Ferguson was in charge of the State's Atty's Office at that time! Another great deal!!! FOR THE PERVERT!!! It is time for a change!

---------------------------
Tom,keep the blame where it belongs...Our Corrupt Courthouse!!!
Remember my concern, Coles County Courthouse, prejudice, discriminatory, favoritism, plea dealing Corruption!

However Tom, my main concern in these cases are the victims...Innocent children! "

" I'm sorry, Grad, all that keystroking doesn't prove a thing. It's still anecdotal, and biased as hell. At first glance, it sounds like you've made a case; however, you're only telling one (incriminating) side of the story. Hate to sound thick headed here, but I have not heard one word from you serving as evidence of "prejudice, discriminatory, favoritism, plea dealing Corruption". If you expect credibility, you have to, first, drop the silly screen name and use the one your mother gave you, and second, explain to all of us just how this massive 5th Circuit conspiracy theory of yours works and somehow manages to fly under the radar. Granted, there are probably cases in any jurisdiction where certain individuals are given preferential treatment. That's a flaw of human nature. But you expect us to believe that case after case after case is corrupted? What would be the incentive, the motivation involved? It seems to me that you're playing a very nasty game of politics, and it seems to me that you're using these young children as your pawns to attack the incumbent(s). You have to do better than that. "

" Here is a Letter to the editor, or maybe to the paper itself I found concerning one of the persons above.
And he has a very valid point!
----------------------------

January 6, 2000
Section: News

Inmate says sentences don't fit the crime
Willie Clemmons

My name is Willie Clemmons. I am currently being held in the Coles County jail awaiting to be shipped to Grahm C.C. on charges of theft over $150 and obstruction of justice. In both of these cases I received 7 years. And I guess that part of that very harsh sentence was given to me because of my past history. Anyway, while sitting in the county jail I read one of your news articles concerning a Jimmy S. Derixson who was sentenced to 5 years. The reason I am writing is because it seems to me and a lot of other inmates that Judge Paul Komada thrives on giving child sex offenders less time than he does drug dealers and people who commit less serious crimes. (Derixson) sexually assaulted three kids under the age of 7 years and there's no telling how many he's assaulted and got away with. I cannot believe your newspaper didn't write a better story than you did. Jimmy could have received way more than 5 years for this crime. But yet Judge Komada had sympathy for him in his case. Where was my sympathy? Why is Judge Komada being so soft with these child sex offenders and baby abusers? Here, I only stole a few Fubu shirts and got 7 years. This guy sexually assaulted three kids under the age of 7 and got 5 years. Why should he be allowed to be back on the streets before I do? My cell mate, Robert D. Blythe, was offered 14 years in prison, first time drug offense, for selling to a under cover police officer. He's never really been to jail for much more than a battery charge. But the state's attorney's office and Judge Komada want to give him 14 years. He didn't assault any baby or their kids. What kind of leaders does this city have? They are letting the harsher criminals go and keeping guys like myself and Mr. Blythe in jail. I urge your publishers to write about this and maybe Judge Komada will start giving harsher sentences to child sex offenders. Because right now he's acting like a child sex offender who doesn't care. These children have feelings too and I think he did a very poor job in Jimmy Derixson's case. Don't you? WILLIE CLEMMONS "

" I would like to hear from our friend, CHS: just how electing Todd Readon would change anything? Tell us why you think Reardon would do a better job. Posting the outcomes some trials, particularly those that result in what seems to be leniency, really proves nothing. And in fact, make you look rather silly, that is if that's the best reason you have to support Reardon. You seem to have invested hours and hours on this relatively obscure web site trying to make Ferguson look bad and show a reason to replace him. I would think a better way would be to get out and take Reardon's campaign door to door, and give some good reasons for voting for him. If, by posting these results, you are saying Ferguson is not doing his job, then I guess if you were to post the outcomes that result in more severe punishment, Ferguson would be doing a good job. But you fail to do that. Only listing those results you are not satisfied with seems a bit lopsided to me. Seriously, does anyone think the problems relating to the court system will magically change regardless of who the states attorney is? What is not being brought up is the corruption that has plagued that office for years up until the time Ferguson took over. At one time, not so long ago, a cash contribution to a certain person or party, would make charges vanish overnight. Without going into details, I will assure you that this practice no longer exists. Please don't take that particular issue as an accusation towards Reardon in any way, it is merely an observation of what went on before Ferguson took over. If you really wants to help your candidate, you're going to have to do more than this. Having been involved in grassroots politics before, I will tell you it's not enough to rely on proving the other guy is not as good as you candidate. While it's true that negative campaigning sometimes works, eventually you have to prove your guy is worth voting for, and so far I haven't seen much of that. In addition, your justification for all of this seems a bit questionable to me, and I suspect others are finding it a bit suspicious too. "

" Let's not forget who was trying to hide the Jim Baba case from the public!!! Remember the prosecutor stealing evidence? Drugs at that! Honest upfront politics in Coles County? I don't think so.... "

" One thing I see is a bunch of SA bashing, however if we read, the ASA Kiger was pushing for a maximum sentence. Clearly the ASA was trying her best to get this guy a lot more of a sentence. This had little to nothing to do with the SA Ferguson, but the agreement between the judge who handed down the sentence and Lutz who defended him. "

" 85CHSGrad, are you sure you graduated? Why are we supposed to place any credence in a letter written by an inmate? You actually use something like this to support your argument that the 5th Circuit is corrupt. LMAO! "

" Has anyone checked out judici to see that Mr. Shoot was allowed out of jail today to attend a funeral????? "

" I think it is important to keep in mind that the reason we have judges is so that not only can the punishment fit the crime but can also fit the criminal. Perhaps some of the other posters dont care for our American system of justice. None of us here know the details of this case. Thankfully we have judges and juries to deal with those. One of the factors the judge weighed was the threat to the community. He looked at ALL the facts and decided to take a chance with this guy. Sex crimes come in all shapes and sizes. Dispite the apparent views expressed here, I am grateful we live in a country where at least one branch of government does not feel they need to respond the hysteria and taste for blood that the public seems always to show about this crime. A little less emotion and a bit more rational thinking please. "

" " a lot of people don't like hearing honest, unpopular, pull-no-punches opinions expressed, and are groping for a way to silence them. HAHAHA!!! " "

" Those probation sentences are as sick, if not sicker, than the criminals who victimized the children of our commuity. Then someone like Willy says," Judge Jacobs looked at ALL the facts and decided to take a chance with this guy." Well Mr. Jacobs, move him into your community, around your family and friends, if you feel like gambling with these perverts! Protect our children! "

" David molested in 1997 a girl of 9 and previously in Florida his own daughter.
How can a molester keep being on probation, fined $610, and another girl only age 9 in coles county? The mother was given the girls back and he then took all to Florida where found him in motel with the girls and the mom not there. The girls lived with relative and Dave ran around like an innocent man. He publicly placed all blame on the natural father. He would go into walmart in toy section around kids while on 1997 probation. Even tried to date a video store employee with four little girls. AND another lady in Bethany with small child and a teen.
Im surprised he stayed in Mattoon. "

" What I see as an obstacle to communication here is that not everyone is seeing it as just a "political" issue.
I was a molested child. Nothing was ever done to any of my molesters....not even probation, because I was embarrassed and ashamed and scared and sick to my stomach every time it happened, but I didn't tell. Everytime that I meet up face to face with those whom I KNOW are guilty of what they did to me, I feel all of those things over again. I should have told, but then again, what difference would it have made? My heart, my mind, my innocence......my whole life was affected by what happened to me when I was a child. Nothing or nobody....no amount of counselling will change the fact that it happened and it shouldn't have. I have learned to live with what happened to me. I didn't have it nearly as bad as some other victims...I was older than 2, and nobody "accidentally" had intercourse with me, but I was still changed in a way that can never be undone.
My point is that although there ARE politics involved in what punishment is given to these perpetrators, it is hard for these victims and their families to think of it as being a political issue.
Now I don't know if the molester can be rehabbed or not, but I do know that all the couselling in the universe does not change the fact that the act took place.....only the way one perceives him/herself after becoming a victim. It is definitely a necessary recourse, but the plan would be to make sure it didn't happen again.....protect your children!!! Politically speaking,the victims are just a statistic. The only person who cares what happens to your child REALLY is you. "

" Can you please tell what is wrong with this town, your DA is corrupted, you sentence drug offenders straight to prison yet, sex-offenders are all over your streets on probation, what a place to live. Is that really what you consider just. "

" Who commits most sex crimes? Well, 95% of all new sex crimes are committed by those NOT on the registry. Family members and those known to the family commit 98% of all sex crimes. So much for stranger danger.
2nd question. Who is MORE LIKELY to committ a sex crime upon release from prison? Sex Offenders or NON-sex offenders?

For the answer, go here. www.cfcoklahoma.org and see the article, "Revisiting Department of Justice Recidivism Statistics and More Shocking Truths." "