Another Superfluous Incest Prosecution

Russell Lee Engleman, 49, of Santa Ana, California, sounds like a real piece of work. Thankfully, he’s going to prison and will be unlikely to eligible for parole. He hasn’t been sentenced quite yet, though.

A five-man, seven-woman jury deliberated for a day and a half before finding Engleman guilty of nine counts of lewd acts upon a child under 14, three counts of using young girls for pornographic purposes, and one count of possession of child pornography for images found on his computer. He was also convicted of several penalty-enhancing allegations of substantial sexual conduct and committing crimes against multiple victims.

District Attorney Heather Brown argued that Engleman engaged in continuous sexual abuse with one of his victims from the time she was 9 until she was 13.

Brown said Engleman molested the second victim -- daughter of a friend -- over a three-year period by inviting his friend to visit with his daughter at the auto repair shop.

Engleman also used his adult daughter to help him molest and take pictures of the third girl, the daughter of another friend, when she was 12, Brown said.

All of that should have been more than enough to send him away for life. But there was more…

Engleman earlier pleaded guilty to four counts of incest for having sex with his daughter when she was 17 and 18, Brown said.

I understand that 17 is below the age of consent in California. Why bother with charging him for sex with an 18-year-old? If it was rape, charge him with rape. Like I said, he should be in prison for life for what he did to minor girls.

The problem is, laws criminalizing sex between adults aren’t only used against scumbags like this. They are also used against people who don’t hurt anyone. Send child molesters and rapists to prison for life. Decriminalize sex between adults.