SHORT COMMUNICATION 348
The
Quadruple Whammy
By
Roger Behra
It does not take long for promising lives to be forever ruined and
lamented. That is what happened to 2
juvenile boys (ages 16 and 17) at Steubenville, Ohio. On March 17, 2013, a judge found the boys quilty
of a "profane and ugly rape," with related activities, of a 16-year-old girl. They are now waiting their
sentencing. When Ma'lik Richmond
heard the word quilty he told his lawyer, "My life is over." Trent
Mays walked over and apologized to the victim and her family, and he then broke
into tears and could not speak.
The "profane and ugly rape" of the
16-year-old girl went like this. The two boys and the girl were in the house
basement of one of the boys. The girl drank alcohol to excess and passed out. That's
when the two boys began to throw away their future as star football players and
high school graduates: They took full advantage of the girl's helpless situation and the rape
began. It was not the tradition all
type of rape however, so there was a legal surprise waiting for them later.
What the boys did was totally uncalled for and
gravely immoral. The sentencing judge revealed that both boys used their
fingers to penetrate the girl in the early hours of 3-12-13 while she was so
drunk that she lacked the ability to give her consent for sex. A picture was
taken and later circulated among classmates that showed her naked and passed
out. Hundreds of texts also gave account
of the assault on the girl. That´s
why the sentencing judge said all the evidence was "profane and
ugly."
It was then that the rude awakening at the court
sentencing took place. They were informed by the judge that Ohio's legal
definition of rape included digital penetration, that using finger penetration was indeed
rape. It was shocking news to the two boys. They
knew right then and there they were no longer football stars with a promising future.
What the boys did was not only "profane and ugly" it was
gravely immoral and sinful. Their spiritual
nature was affected and harmed. Sometimes only the spiritual nature is affected. Many times the legal matter
as well is part of the overall
outcome.
In the case of the two juvenile boys, they
victimized themselves and got hit squarely between the eyes with a quadruple whammy: They became victims
of their immoral behavior; They are no longer two football stars; They threw
their high school diplomas and high school graduation right into the waste
basket; They are low waiting for their prison sentence to begin. It is no
surprise that this is the end result for
the two Ohio boys. It is the road they put themselves onto be-of their immoral behavior: personal disaster in
earthly life and consequences later in eternal life.
R.
B.
4-1-13
