Six Year Old Charged With Sex Crime for Playing Doctor

[rbunnymom]

What do you think?

Family Sues Wisconsin Prosecutor After She Charges 6-Year-Old Boy With First-Degree Sexual Assault After “Playing Doctor’ « JONATHAN TURLEY


District Attorney Lisa Riniker appears intent on outdoing other prosecutors by charging a 6-year-old boy with first-degree sexual assault for what the family says was playing doctor with a 5-year-old girl.


The toddler is charged with a Class B felony and Riniker rejects criticism that she failed to apply not just discretion but reason. Instead she says “the legislature could have put an age restriction in the statute if it wanted to. The legislature did no such thing.” That apparently is license for Riniker to charge anyone who has progressed beyond the fetus stage (and earlier in those states giving fetuses the status of person — and potential rapists).

Notably, the girl (and her brother who was involved in the game) are the children of a powerful political figure in the county and was not charged.

The boy will be forced to register as a sex offender wen he is 18 and spend the rest of his life under the restrictions imposed on rapists and child molesters. What is astonishing is that Riniker appears to have maintained a willful blindness to the fact that she was prosecuting a toddler. The complaint below states:

Until last week, the District Attorney (DA), Defendant Riniker, was (or caused the) addressing and sending mail to 6 year- old D, rather than to the parents, and that the DA refers to the 6 year-old not by his first name but as “Mr._____” (last name redacted because of the child’s age). Furthermore, she sends or causes to be sent to the 6 year-old paperwork that tells him that he could go to jail if he does not show-up for court.

The boy suffers from ADHD, but neither his disability or his age appears to have relevance to Riniker.

Also named in the lawsuit below are Jan Moravits, a social worker with Grant County Social Services, and Sgt. James Kopp, who recently retired from the Grant County Sheriff’s Department.

The lawsuit alleges 1983 claims for loss of first amendment and due process protections. It also includes an allegation of the negligent infliction of emotional distress. Wisconsin has historically been somewhat skeptical of these claims — only recognizing intentional infliction of emotional distress in 1963. A court explained the continuing unease over the claims in Bowen v. Lumbermens Mutual Casualty Company, 183 Wis. 2d 627 (Wis. 1994):

On the other hand, courts have struggled with the tort of negligent infliction of emotional distress, concerned that the negligent conduct did not adequately assure the authenticity of the plaintiff’s claim of severe emotional harm. Courts have historically been apprehensive that psychological injuries would be easy to feign and that suits would be brought for trivial emotional distress more dependent on the peculiar emotional sensitivities of the plaintiff than upon the nature of the tortfeasor’s conduct. People should not, courts reasoned, be able to sue for everyday minor disturbances. Furthermore courts feared that opening the courts to claims for negligent infliction of emotional distress would open the floodgates of litigation and lead to unlimited liability for a negligent tortfeasor.

The difficulty with such claims (despite the compelling facts) is that courts heavily favor government officials in their use of discretionary powers. It is an ironic twist. Most attorneys view this as an abuse of prosecutorial discretion while Riniker will likely argue that the protection of discretionary powers includes the alleged abuse or lack of exercised discretion.

In Brach v. City of Wausau, 0617 F. Supp. 2d 796 (W.D. Wis.2009), a court dismissed a case against officers for excessive force and forcing the plaintiffs into public wearing only his underwear. The court still found it was privilege for purposes of an 1983 action.

Faced with overwhelming criticism from lawyers and non-lawyers alike, Riniker went to Judge Bill Dyke in Iowa County and demanded a gag order. Dyke gave it to her but the order does not silence the growing number of people denouncing the case as an abusive of power. Ironically, I just spoke with David Bois as part of the ABA conference about the growing misuse of gag orders in courts around the country in high-profile cases.

Perhaps there was something that made Riniker feel that the boy was culpable in this incident. However, to charge a toddler with felony sexual assault defies reason. The use of a felony charge to force a child into supervision is an abuse of the criminal code in my view.

Here is the complaint: 261455600-18135628

[clippyclippy]

No, no, no.... this is messed up.....

That said, I can't help but wonder about calling a 6 year old a 'toddler'.

[JulieDB]

No, no, no.... this is messed up.....

That said, I can't help but wonder about calling a 6 year old a 'toddler'.

Agreed!

And I had to read the toddler part over and over again. I was like... Who are they talking about?

[CW&M Mom]

um insane

found this (the child "abused":

She is the daughter of a well-known political figure in Grant County, Wisconsin. Although, the political figure's 5
year-old son (present with his 5 year-old sister), allegedly committed a similar act, the son was not charged.
Instead, only "D" was charged


The article was a blog...the blog writer was the one calling him a toddler..which was dumb..and a ADHD dx is not necessarily a disability dx..but regardless...no 6 year old can understand that what him and his friend were doing was "sexual assault" (they put there finger in her bum) nor can he understand at all the entire process of being charged with a felony, let alone what it means to be a sex offender and all of that, and you cannot be convicted of that if you cannot remotely understand it. He doesn't have the IQ at the time to understand it. And playing doctor is common behavior.and since HELLO the brother was doing the same dang behavior he probably was just mimicking the behavior of the brother. HOPE CPS was called on the brother and an investigation was done on him.

Even though the DA pushed this through..the judge should of thrown it out.

[434Teresa]

yeh the toddler part pot me also...I wonder what he done when playing Dr that was bad enough to cause all these problems for him? and why the girls brother was not charged also for that just seems so unright to me.

I hope the parents got a good lawyer for the child.

[434Teresa]

um insane

found this (the child "abused":

She is the daughter of a well-known political figure in Grant County, Wisconsin. Although, the political figure's 5
year-old son (present with his 5 year-old sister), allegedly committed a similar act, the son was not charged.
Instead, only "D" was charged


The article was a blog...the blog writer was the one calling him a toddler..which was dumb..and a ADHD dx is not necessarily a disability dx..but regardless...no 6 year old can understand that what him and his friend were doing was "sexual assault" (they put there finger in her bum) nor can he understand at all the entire process of being charged with a felony, let alone what it means to be a sex offender and all of that, and you cannot be convicted of that if you cannot remotely understand it. He doesn't have the IQ at the time to understand it. And playing doctor is common behavior.and since HELLO the brother was doing the same dang behavior he probably was just mimicking the behavior of the brother. HOPE CPS was called on the brother and an investigation was done on him.

Even though the DA pushed this through..the judge should of thrown it out.

My question is where did they boy learn about putting a finger in someones behind? I dont feel that a 6 year old knew that this was a crime of any kind and being that hey/they had to have learned it somewhere this matter needs to be looked into some.

[meggers]

Perhaps there was something that made Riniker feel that the boy was culpable in this incident.

Even if this is the case, Riniker should be digging deeper cause a 6 year old practicing "culpable" medicine had to learn it from someone.

I know that kids are getting more violent, but my problem is that they, more often than not, lack the ability to truly understand why it's wrong as well as the consequences of it for both the victim and the perpetrator.

And isn't that the whole crux of our justice system? It's God's system. Surely it's good enough for us.

[motherofmolly]

a 6 year old does not have the mental capacity to commit a crime...or at least under illinois law.

sounds like someone should of gotten a better lawyer...

but i got to wonder ( i didnt read it all) who made the police report?

[CW&M Mom]

My question is where did they boy learn about putting a finger in someones behind? I dont feel that a 6 year old knew that this was a crime of any kind and being that hey/they had to have learned it somewhere this matter needs to be looked into some.

Problem is the little girl's brother was doing the exact same behavior...without CPS getting involved in the entire situation..who knows! The little Boy "D" could of just been mimmiccing the little girls brother

Shame on that family for making such a fuss about "D" yet not holding there own son responsible!!!!

Typically when things of this nature go on, there isn't any criminal charges made even if it's blatant sex abuse going on by the very young child, but instead the child is placed in ton of therapy..lots of investigation goes on to pinpoint where the child has learned that behavior if it's not already known.

The other thing is....for all we know..maybe mom and dad everytime the boy gets sick with a fever take his temperature rectally. So for all he knows..that is normal when your "playing doctor". That's why instead of everyone flipping out, you get child psychologists in and figure out what was behind the "act" if it was actually abuse or if the child was just mimicking something harmless that happened to him.

You read the lawsuit though...The DA was out to get that kid. It was awful

[CW&M Mom]

a 6 year old does not have the mental capacity to commit a crime...or at least under illinois law.

sounds like someone should of gotten a better lawyer...

but i got to wonder ( i didnt read it all) who made the police report?

Ya I'd be dragging that to the supreme court..cause they are requiring that when he turns 18 that he has to file as a sex offender. That is insane.

They actually charged him with statutory rape! Ya gonna charge him with it, then you better charge the brother with it,, and make him have to file as a sex offender as well.