Christopher
Puritan Board Freshman
Man charged with raping autistic woman will not be prosecuted
ORLANDO, Florida, USA: A judge has ruled that an elderly man charged with raping and impregnating an autistic woman will not face prosecution or be committed to a mental facility because he suffers from a degenerative disease.
Orange Circuit Judge C. Alan Lawson also ruled on April 19 that 76-year-old Phillip Strong, who suffers from dementia and memory loss, could not have "unsupervised contact with any mentally disabled person or any minor child" and must undergo a mental evaluation in a year.
Strong was accused of raping a woman, known only as J.D.S, at a group home formerly run by his wife, Hester. J.D.S. suffers from severe retardation, cerebral palsy and autism.
The woman gave birth in August after a statewide debate over treatment of the developmentally disabled and a national debate on foetal rights. Her parental rights were terminated immediately after the healthy child was born.
Hester Strong has been charged with felony negligence and is awaiting trial. Phillip Strong had been out on bail since last year, confined to his home.
Lawson's order said that state law prevented him from committing him involuntarily, because the man's "condition cannot be treated (and will only continue to deteriorate)."
Lawson wrote: "This result is far from just for the victim, her family and a community which rightly desires that an accused stand trial for crimes as atrocious as those alleged in this case. This is one of those rare cases in which competing principles of justice clash irreconcilably. And, as a result, justice cannot legally be done for all."
J.D.S. now lives in another state-licensed facility, and her baby lives with foster parents.
(Source: Orlando Sentinel, April 20, 2004)
ORLANDO, Florida, USA: A judge has ruled that an elderly man charged with raping and impregnating an autistic woman will not face prosecution or be committed to a mental facility because he suffers from a degenerative disease.
Orange Circuit Judge C. Alan Lawson also ruled on April 19 that 76-year-old Phillip Strong, who suffers from dementia and memory loss, could not have "unsupervised contact with any mentally disabled person or any minor child" and must undergo a mental evaluation in a year.
Strong was accused of raping a woman, known only as J.D.S, at a group home formerly run by his wife, Hester. J.D.S. suffers from severe retardation, cerebral palsy and autism.
The woman gave birth in August after a statewide debate over treatment of the developmentally disabled and a national debate on foetal rights. Her parental rights were terminated immediately after the healthy child was born.
Hester Strong has been charged with felony negligence and is awaiting trial. Phillip Strong had been out on bail since last year, confined to his home.
Lawson's order said that state law prevented him from committing him involuntarily, because the man's "condition cannot be treated (and will only continue to deteriorate)."
Lawson wrote: "This result is far from just for the victim, her family and a community which rightly desires that an accused stand trial for crimes as atrocious as those alleged in this case. This is one of those rare cases in which competing principles of justice clash irreconcilably. And, as a result, justice cannot legally be done for all."
J.D.S. now lives in another state-licensed facility, and her baby lives with foster parents.
(Source: Orlando Sentinel, April 20, 2004)