Bubbaworld

On October 30, 2006 Edward Dewayne Benton Jr., 31, of Porum, OK, pled guilty in Muskogee County District to two felony counts of lewd molestation. The victim of these crimes is Benton’s 6 year-old niece.

As a result of his guilty pleas Benton was sentenced to twenty years on each count, with sentences to run concurrently. Both sentences were then suspended. Benton was ordered to register as a sex offender, to have no contact with the victim and to undergo treatment as condition of his probation.

According to court records, Benton did not receive any fine as part of his punishment but was ordered to pay all costs accrued and accruing. As of this writing, Benton’s ‘total tab’ according to court records is $1,271.30.

Benton’s sentence was the result of a plea deal between the District Attorney’s office via ADA Kristin Littlefield and defense attorney Roger Hilfiger.

The Muskogee Phoenix, in a reported titled, “Child molester receives no prison time” quoted Associate District Judge Norman Thygesen, who accepted the plea deal, as stating in reference to the lawyers:

I can tell by their demeanor there’s something they don’t like about this. I don’t like it either.

Judge Thygesen gave Benton the following warning:

We have a contract. You are promising to live by these rules, and if you don’t, and they can prove you don’t, I will send you to prison.

The Muskogee Phoenix report quoted Muskogee County Sheriff’s Investigator Jan Ray regarding Benton’s sentence as stating:

I don’t know how he can get away with this without serving any prison time.

Commentary and Opinion From Bubbaworld

This outrageous example of justice derailed is one that will leave many people questioning how an admitted child molester can walk out of the courtroom a free man after pleading guilty to twice molesting a 6 year-old child.

The twenty year sentences, one on each count, while not as harsh as some of us might prefer would certainly send a message of deterrence to others that might consider molesting children.

That the sentences were suspended in their entirety sends a very clear message of encouragement to those that might consider molesting children. And that message is “That guy in Muskogee got away with it, you might too”.

This is not a message civilized persons want their districts attorney and judges sending potential child molesters. But that is exactly the message sent loud and clear by the travesty of justice in Muskogee County, Oklahoma.

Districts attorney, their assistances and judges need to realize that every time they put their stamp of approval on one of these sweetheart deals for child molesters they are insuring that more children will be victimized.

They also need to realize the disheartening effect their sweetheart deals have on the many dedicated law enforcement officers that spend many hours investigating these tragic case only to see an admitted child molester waltz down the isle of the courtroom and out the door a free man.

And there is one additional thing that everyone needs to realize and that is that sweetheart deals cut between the DA’s office and defense attorneys can be rejected by the judge who has the legal authority to reject any plea deal and to order that the case proceed to trial.

In regard to this outrageous plea deal, Judge Thygesen stated, “I don’t like it either.” If the judge was being honest in that statement he should have rejected the plea deal and pressed ahead with the jury trial as scheduled. That he did not says a lot more about Judge Thygesen that his self-serving statement of “I don’t like it”.

Judge Thygesen, we don’t like it either. And you should be ashamed, very ashamed, for going along to get along on a absolutely outrageous sweetheart plea deal for an admitted child molester. Owing to your acceptance of this plea deal the children of Oklahoma are more at risk, and for that you are responsible.