Billionaire Gets 4 Months For Sexually Assaulting 12-Year-Old Because He’s ‘Productive

[C Moon]

I don't know how reliable this website is for news, but it sure sounds it's more likely than not to me. The uber-wealthy are above the law.

http://www.addictinginfo.org/2014/06/07/billionaire-gets-off/

Billionaire Gets 4 MONTHS For Sexually Assaulting 12-Year-Old Because He’s ‘Productive
In the United States, it doesn’t matter who you are; if you’re rich, you receive special treatment in our “justice” system.

SC Johnson, the “family” company’s billionaire heir, Samuel Curtis Johnson III, who confessed to repeatedly sexually assaulting his teenage stepdaughter has received an outrageous prison sentence of only four months because the judge, Circuit Justice Eugene Gasiorkiewicz, feels that Johnson’s importance to the community is valued much higher than the dignity of his abused step-daughter.

You read that right. Affluenza, as it has been dubbed, has struck again. This billionaire has officially plead guilty to mere misdemeanor charges of fourth-degree sexual assault and disorderly conduct instead of receiving the maximum which is felony sexual assault on a minor child. These charges originally stem from 2011. Think Progress reported Johnson’s stepdaughter “initially told police Johnson was ‘a sex addict‘ and touched her inappropriately 15 to 20 times starting when she was 12 years old. She told her mother about the abuse in order to protect her younger sister, and Johnson confessed when the mother confronted him.” Because Johnson’s victim was unwilling to testify in the case, the prosecutors had to make a plea deal with Johnson and his legal team.


Billionaire Gets 4 MONTHS For Sexually Assaulting 12-Year-Old Because He’s ‘Productive’
Author: Ryan Denson June 7, 2014 7:12 pm

In the United States, it doesn’t matter who you are; if you’re rich, you receive special treatment in our “justice” system.

SC Johnson, the “family” company’s billionaire heir, Samuel Curtis Johnson III, who confessed to repeatedly sexually assaulting his teenage stepdaughter has received an outrageous prison sentence of only four months because the judge, Circuit Justice Eugene Gasiorkiewicz, feels that Johnson’s importance to the community is valued much higher than the dignity of his abused step-daughter.

You read that right. Affluenza, as it has been dubbed, has struck again. This billionaire has officially plead guilty to mere misdemeanor charges of fourth-degree sexual assault and disorderly conduct instead of receiving the maximum which is felony sexual assault on a minor child. These charges originally stem from 2011. Think Progress reported Johnson’s stepdaughter “initially told police Johnson was ‘a sex addict‘ and touched her inappropriately 15 to 20 times starting when she was 12 years old. She told her mother about the abuse in order to protect her younger sister, and Johnson confessed when the mother confronted him.” Because Johnson’s victim was unwilling to testify in the case, the prosecutors had to make a plea deal with Johnson and his legal team.

Johnson’s attorney, Michael F. Hart argued to Judge Gasiorkiewicz that the maximum prison term for his client was not fair and that is should be reserved for “maximum defendants,” people unlike his client (aka not billionaires with a prestigious name), who has no prior record and who leads a “productive life.” Again, the billionaire status and famous name apply to that “productive life.” He’s an heir, so remember folks, he’s inheriting this empire and inheriting this money. Very productive.

Add insult to injury, the judge made his decision based on other cases in which he has rarely gives first time offenders the maximum sentence. So instead the judge gave Johnson, a billionaire, a fine of $6,000. The judge ruled that he must serve at least 60 days of the sentence before he will be eligible for release.

Billionaire rapes an underage child, gets a sentence that a teenager gets for shoplifting. That’s what some people like to call the “invisible hand” in economics.

[Binkie The Clown]

1. He gets off easy because he's one of the owners of goverment.

The bosses don't play by the same rules as we peons. They own the government, They own the judges. They own the ballot boxes and voting machines. They own your ass and mine.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

12. It's a sad fact.

[haikugal]

2. It's a club, and we're not in it.... Disgusting!

[vive la commune]

3. I'm speechless and furious

And utterly disgusted.

[shenmue]

13. Me too

[Enthusiast]

4. Clearly this is bullshit!

[URL=.html][IMG][/IMG][/URL]

[Fuddnik]

8. I remember reading about the case when he was first arrested.

Never saw anything about it again, and assumed he already had his trial, etc.

It certainly is disgusting. With the victim refusing to testify, it probably made for a very weak case, and they probably made a plea deal just so he got something...anything. The negotiations going on behind the scenes were probably as repugnant as the crime. In all likelihood, a large amount of money was probably passed all around also.

[C Moon]

19. I didn't think about that: he bought his way out of prison by paying the parents.

Pretty effed up either way.

[davidn3600]

5. This happens all the time

Look how easy Jeffrey Epstein got off.

When you have money, the laws don't apply to you like they do to everyone else.

[Oldtimeralso]

6. Agreed

AMERICA has the best legal system money can buy!

[KansDem]

7. Don't forget Robert H. Richards IV, the du Pont heir...

Though Robert H. Richards IV was convicted of rape, the wealthy heir to the du Pont family fortune was spared prison by a Delaware court in 2009 because he would "not fare well" behind bars, according to court documents CNN obtained Tuesday.

Richards is a great-grandson of the chemical magnate Irenee du Pont.

He received an eight-year prison sentence in 2009 for raping his toddler daughter, but the sentencing order signed by a Delaware judge said "defendant will not fare well" in prison and the eight years were suspended.

Richards was placed on eight years' probation and ordered to get treatment and register as a sex offender, the documents show. He was also prohibited from having contact with children under 16, including his own children.

CNN

If you're rich you will not "fare well in prison," so you get probation instead. Got that?

[lexington filly]

9. From the WSJ: 2014--Johnson had fought it for 3 yrs--Sickening story

"The victim in the case had moved to North Carolina, said she wished the case would be dismissed, and fought legal efforts to make her come to Wisconsin to testify.

Samuel Curtis "Curt" Johnson III, was charged in 2011 with indecently touching a girl when she was between ages 12 and 15. Johnson, 59, is an heir to the S.C. Johnson household products company fortune.

In a court hearing Friday, Johnson agreed to plead guilty to fourth-degree sexual assault and disorderly conduct.

Assistant District Attorney Robert Repischak asked for the maximum sentence — nine months in jail on the sexual assault, and 90 days for disorderly conduct, consecutive, to make a year in the county jail.

Michael F. Hart, one of Johnson's attorneys, said maximum terms should be reserved for "maximum defendants," repeat offenders or those who try to disrupt the prosecution of their case. Johnson, he noted, has no prior record and has led an otherwise productive life.

Circuit Judge Eugene Gasiorkiewicz said he was "troubled" by the state recommendation, since he's never seen prosecutors seek maximum sentences for a first-time offender before, and imposed the term the defense suggested.

Johnson was sentenced to four months in jail with Huber privileges after 60 days and fined $6,000. He will not have to register as a sex offender."

[sendero]

10. The billionaire class...

... doesn't just own the legislature and the executive branch, they now own the judiciary also.

Anyone surprised has not been paying attention.

[mythology]

11. Is this a case of the wealthy getting off

Or is it related to how little we care about sexual violence? Think about the Montana teacher who got 30 days because the student he raped was "older than her chronological age" or the guy who got 10 years knocked off his sentence for raping a three year old because when she wandered into his garage he became inexplicably aroused and he didn't mean to hurt her when he forcibly anally raped her.

[newfie11]

14. The new America

Where Oligarchs rule and the little people pay!

[merrily]

15. stepdaughter--sounds to me like incest.

Someone had to have been paid off, or hoping to be paid off in the future.

[Octafish]

16. Transfer the productive turd's billions to the 12-year-old.

She'll not only be productive, she might put it to good use.

[uponit7771]

20. +1

[Baitball Blogger]

17. Certainly.

And if you want to keep a particularly crooked politician out of jail, who has worked tirelessly for the interest of the status quo, put him at the helm of a real estate firm and put his name down as a representative on every undeveloped parcel of land that is critical to a city's development. Then, just sit back and watch the stupid reign supreme.

[Javaman]

18. I was called to jury duty a couple of years ago...

the person on trial was a sex offender.

he was in his late 20's and the victim was under 16. That's all we were allowed to know.

he chose to have a trial by jury.

in the middle of jury selection, he pleading out. 15 years.

and this billionaire gets 4 months.

both are scumbags, but it appears as if the poor in this country are bigger scumbags than the rich.

funny that.

must be the fancy suit.

[C Moon]

21. Wow. Yeah, I sat on a multiple child molestation case—3 kids (including a 4 year old).

Brutal to sit though. He was found guilty by us, I don't know what the sentence was. We were excused and I found nothing in the news. I believe he was an older leader of a local gang, so they tried to keep things hush.

In fact, when the case opened, the judge said the guy's name and the defendant's lawyer quickly corrected the judge with his "correct name." They only called us by a number, no names were used.

[Javaman]

34. That had to be tough...

I was so glad when the guy pleaded out. apparently there were pictures involved and we the jury would have been subject to viewing that evidence.

that freaking creeped me out.

there was a collective sigh of relief among all the perspective jurors when the guy pleaded out.

[F4lconF16]

22. And yet, even here

People pretend that our justice system works, that it can be fixed.

This is not new. This is how it was designed.

[C Moon]

24. I wouldn't ever want my life left in the hands of a jury (not directly related to your comment)

One jury I was on (I mentioned above in the thread), a couple of the jurors said, "Let's just say guilty and get out of here" (instead of going over all the charges), then several laughed at the comment. We did find him guilty and it took over a day because we were stuck on one charge, but still, it's scary to think there are people that take it so casually.

[fadedrose]

23. Disgraceful

This guy would probably enjoy a prison where he can get to more younger men without penalty.

Send him there.

[Captain Stern]

25. Seems the article is a little misleading.

It doesn't sound like the judge went easy on the guy because he was 'productive'. He just gave him the a similar sentence to the one he gives other first-time offenders. The maximum the judge could have given for the 2 charges that were plead guilty to was 12 months...even if the guy was a repeat offender. So, it's hard for me to fault the judge on this one.

The messed up things that allowed this guy to only get 4 months happened before he even went in front of the judge.

[randys1]

26. Regardless, we need to be reminded that our justice system is just as messed up as

our elections and politicians.

We do not have choices, we have the illusion, as George Carlin said and as we all know he said.

While we try and create a fair world and country, we have to elect the least harmful of them

[Captain Stern]

27. I agree, but we should do it accurately.

The guy didn't end up with a light sentence because of the judge. He ended up with a light sentence because he could afford the kind of representation that could get him such a lenient plea deal.

[yellowcanine]

29. The guy was a repeat offender. He assaulted the girl on numerous occasions.

Just because he admitted to it all at once does not make him a "first-time offender."

[Captain Stern]

30. True. But the judge can only sentence him for what he's pleading guilty to.

He plead guilty to ONE charge of fourth-degree sexual assualt, and ONE charge of disorderly conduct. That's what the judge had to work with.

[yellowcanine]

31. Yeah well the prosecutor is much to blame here then.

Even without the girl's testimony they should have gone to trial rather than agree to that. Sounds as if the prosecutor was afflicted with affluenza as well.

[Captain Stern]

38. Perhaps so.

But it could be that the prosecutor didn't think he/she could win a case without the victim's testimony. In that case, the abuser would have walked away with no punishment at all.

My point is that there don't have to be any crooked players in our justice system for it to be unfair. It's definitely better to be a rich defendant, than a non-rich defendant. The abuser could have payed off the victim, the victim's mother (his wife), and/or the victim's biological father to not cooperate with the prosecution. If that were the case, there's nothing the prosecutor or judge could do.

Even if that weren't the case, the resources that the abuser had at his disposal tilt the table in his favor. He can afford to pay superior lawyers to delay the case forever, without suffering any change in lifestyle at all. The rest of us don't have that luxury.

[yellowcanine]

28. Hopefully an Attorney Advocate for the child will sue his ass off.

It still would not be justice but at least that child would not have to ever depend on him. Hopefully the wife divorces him and takes him for what is left.

[struggle4progress]

32. The original charges were reduced because the prosecution had no chance of succeeding

without cooperation from the victim and her mother, which wasn't forthcoming:

... Fifty-nine-year-old Samuel "Curt" Johnson III of Racine was originally charged with a felony count of child sexual assault. But prosecutors sought to downgrade the charge after they say the victim and her mother refused to cooperate ...
Billionaire pleads guilty to sexual assault charge
Fri 3:02 PM, Jun 06, 2014

... "Any hope of successfully prosecuting the defendant on the felony charge is virtually nonexistent," assistant district attorney Robert Repischak wrote ... Johnson's attorneys initially sought access to the girl's medical records to determine whether she reported the alleged assaults during therapy. An appeals court ruled that she couldn't testify in the case until she released her records, and the Wisconsin Supreme Court upheld the decision. The girl and her mother refused to do so. That meant prosecutors were legally prohibited from calling the girl as a witness. The mother and girl have also fought subpoenas that would force them to return to Wisconsin from their current home in North Carolina to assist in the trial ...

The prosection therefore downgraded the charges with the permission of the judge; and defendant pleaded guilty to the downgraded charges. The maximum possible sentence, for the charges to which he pleaded guilty, would have been a year; the judge didn't go with that, despite the prosecutor's request to do so, because the defendant had no prior history

... Assistant District Attorney Robert Repischak asked for the maximum sentence — nine months in jail on the sexual assault, and 90 days for disorderly conduct, consecutive, to make a year in the county jail ... Circuit Judge Eugene Gasiorkiewicz said he was "troubled" by the state recommendation, since he's never seen prosecutors seek maximum sentences for a first-time offender before, and imposed the term the defense suggested ... Without the girl's testimony, prosecutors had little chance of winning conviction at trial of such serious charges ...
S.C. Johnson heir pleads guilty in sex assault case
By Bruce Vielmetti of the Journal Sentinel
June 6, 2014

[C Moon]

33. So it's sounding like the billionaire was paying them off.

[struggle4progress]

35. Mebbe. Dunno. Mebbe it's just another fugged-up family where step-dad

is an icky but non-violent creep who sometimes got his jollies by waving his one-eyed trouser snake at his wife's daughter and who pawed at her inappropriately a few times; he's got the money to hire good lawyers; and the girl now just wants to forget the whole stinky mess? It's not that easy to buy off the complainant, the DA, the trial judge, the appeals judges, and half the state supreme court without somebody noticing and blowing a whistle

[C Moon]

36. Oh yeah, what was I thinking? He's the step-dad. I forgot about that. Thx.

[AZ Progressive]

37. Calvinism certainly does pay off for the rich

What an ingenious idea for the rich, to promote a type of Christianity that values the rich over everyone else, via the puritan / protestant work ethic!