MSNBC: Lawmaker’s son sentenced for slashing tires

[stillcool]

Omokunde, 3 Democratic campaign workers vandalized 100 GOP cars in ’04
Updated: 1:43 p.m. ET April 26, 2006
MILWAUKEE - A congresswoman’s son and three Democratic campaign workers were sentenced Wednesday to four to six months in jail for slashing tires outside a Bush-Cheney campaign office on Election Day 2004.
The men pleaded no contest in January to misdemeanor property damage. A fifth worker was found not guilty.

Omokunde was sentenced to four months in jail; Pratt and Lewis Caldwell of Milwaukee were sentenced to six months; and Lavelle Mohammad of Milwaukee was sentenced to five months. All were granted work-release privileges.
Brennan also ordered them to pay a $1,000 fine each, in addition to the $5,317 in total restitution ordered earlier.
The four could have faced up to nine months in jail term and fines of $10,000.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12498215/from/RSS /

and then there's this...

Son of Senate president offered plea deal in assault case
Monday, April 3, 2006 10:48 AM CDT
PHOENIX (AP) - Two young men charged with sodomizing 18 boys at a youth camp last year have been offered a plea agreement that may net them little jail time and no record of sexual assault.
Clifton Bennett, 18, the son of Arizona Senate President Ken Bennett, and his co-defendant, Kyle Wheeler, 19, were charged in January with 18 counts of aggravated assault and 18 counts of kidnapping for the incidents, which happened at a youth camp last June.
The younger Bennett confessed to police that he and Wheeler sodomized the 11- to 14-year-old boys with broomsticks and flashlights in at least 40 incidents, court documents show.
His father, Sen. Ken Bennett, R-Prescott, sat behind him.

The plea agreement describes the assault charge as "a non-dangerous, non-repetitive offense."Bennett was an honor student and active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who plans to go on a mission in September.
"A felony conviction for assault will make his desire to complete his mission impossible,".

Prosecutors told parents they plan to ask for five days in jail on the one count for each defendant, said Lynne Cadigan, a lawyer for two victims. They could face a maximum two years in prison under terms of the plea deal, but the judge could reduce the charges to a misdemeanor and no jail time.

:wtf: edit to fix link.....sorry...
http://www.azdailysun.com/articles/2006/04/03/news/local/20060403_local_news_7.txt

[blm]

1. D son's misdemeanor is national news and R son's CHILD SODOMY is local

Ever wonder who the corporate media is working for?

[depakid]

4. Pretty typical

The media has been actively running cover for Republicans for well over a decade. And they will NEVER stop, unless and until they're required to divest- and they're re-regulated (along with a credible threat of license non-renewal for non-compliance).

[stillcool]

14. But this is not about the media...

this is about Crime...and Justice...and some frigging kind of balance in the frigging court system. I did not think, at this point, my mind could be blown by anything....but this is insane. I think I'm developing a new insight into what 'driving while black' and other aspects of disparity in the criminal justice system feel like.

[depakid]

17. Two different states

so it's somewhat hard to compare. But I agree- Republicans are above the law. And in many ways, the Dems have let that happen.

[stillcool]

21. I know that they're different states...

but I am floored that there is that much of a discrepancy between crime and punishment according to little more than political party.

[The Backlash Cometh]

43. They let it happen if they don't make an issue of the inconsistency.

So, how do we get this in the mainstream press?

[jukes]

24. the point needs to be made, though

that if the media were required to actually and accurately report the news this type of injustice wd not be tolerated.

americans have allowed themselves to be misinformed and misled.

[blm]

33. It absolutely IS about the media and the way they exaggerate any minor

incident connected to Democratic lawmakers while MINIMIZING any serious story or crime connected to Republican lawmakers.

Geez, what kind of message is media sending? If you're a Republican you can get away with serious depravity and can expect only a slap on the wrist with a minimum of media exposure to worry about.

[stillcool]

34. My juxtaposition....

of the two stories was meant as a comparison in crime and punishment...not on what story GE decides to shine the light on. That these two crimes, albeit not in the same state, could be treated so irrationally different...in a 'court of law'...blows my mind... the political component in the meting of justice is far more devastating to me than what GE chooses to air.

[blm]

46. The meting of justice was as politically driven as the coverage of it was.

There is no separating the politics anymore. It's been like this since the mid90s when GOP control of the media started to assert itself in every way possible.

Had we a tough and fair media in this country, don't you think the judge in Arizona would be MORE likely to dispense punishment appropriately?

[melissinha]

49. Your juxtaposition is cheap

Its reminiscent of what they do.

Please find an example in which property theft or damage preferrably in Wisconsin by Republican operatives received a lesser punishment, then we'll talk.

Don't talk apples and eggs. They are not related, try and make the property vs physical attack argument in another way....

[stillcool]

54. . ...do you think I will find a case...

in Wisconsin of the same atrocity as the 18 boys in Arizona being abused under these circumstances, and the prosecutor asking for 5 days in jail, and no criminal record? And you think that describing two different applications of justice is irrelevant because the crime is different? That is precisely why it is relevant. Please...do me a favor...put me on your 'ignore' list...

[rodeodance]

28. Lets all send the AZ piece to Keith O.

[The Backlash Cometh]

42. Do you think KO will help us with this one?

[VolcanoJen]

2. The maximum penalty for child sodomy is two years??

:wtf:

That story is truly disturbing... 40 instances of the defendant sodomizing young boys while at summer camp, and he may avoid jail time altogether??? Unbelievable.

[slackmaster]

3. If the victim is over 15 it becomes a Class 6 Felony in AZ

Maximum penalty = ONE year (per count).

[Mandate My Ass]

5. and a squeaky clean record

He did this over a two-year period and the prosecutor said this was a non-dangerous, non-repetitive, non-sexual crime and the defendant was remorseful, so no harm done. Those kids are scarred for life, they sleep fully clothed, have trouble going to the bathroom etc.

But the repuke's son will have no record so he can go on a mission for his church this fall. I hope there are no children on this mission. :evilfrown:

[VolcanoJen]

8. Sticking a flashlight in a child's anus is non-dangerous and non-sexual???

That is freaking insane!!!

This is just unbelievable. I find the description of his crime to be shocking, sickening and deserved of great punishment.

And he might not even go to jail at all???

[rodeodance]

30. so very humilating for this kids!---

[saigon68]

39. They did that at Abu Ghraib

Rectally sodomizing young boys.

In the Taguba Report there were accounts of CIA agents and their interrogators. Attacking naked young boys and sodomizing them until their screams were heard around the prison.

[The Backlash Cometh]

44. Do you think they're acting out some kind of arrested prepubescent

issues?

[saigon68]

52. Its some kind of sick BONDAGE Sexual stuff

Anyone that would RECTALLY SODOMIZE A YOUNG BOY with a plastic flashlight until the chil;d screams

Is way, way over the edge as a human being

[faithnotgreed]

6. can someone tell me when the sentencing is for the arizona case

sorry if the information was listed
i didnt see it and dont have the heart to read that article

thanks so much

[Judi Lynn]

9. It looks as if that won't happen until May, according to this article:

Goddard questions handling of Yavapai camp 'hazing' case

Robert Anglen
The Arizona Republic
Apr. 7, 2006 12:00 AM

Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard says he has questions about how the Yavapai County Attorney's Office handled the case against two camp counselors accused of shoving objects into the rectal areas of 18 boys last year.

But he says his office has no authority to intervene. In a statement Thursday, Goddard said his office has received many calls and letters from citizens complaining about plea deals for the defendants.

Clifton Bennett, 18, and Kyle Wheeler, 19, were initially charged with 18 counts of aggravated assault and 18 counts of kidnapping. On Monday, both pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated assault. Wheeler pleaded guilty to a second assault count for choking three boys until they passed out. advertisement

Parents of the victims say they are outraged by the agreements.

Yavapai County Attorney Sheila Polk said Tuesday that the media have misrepresented the case, which she described as a hazing ritual.

Bennett and Wheeler will be sentenced in May.
(snip/...)

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/0407goddard0407.html

[VolcanoJen]

19. A hazing ritual!???!????!!!

A hazing ritual is when your buddy passes out drunk and you shave his eyebrows and cover him in whipped cream.

Shoving broomsticks up the rectums of children is sexual assault, and these two disgusting pedophiles should be locked away for a very, very long time, lest they harm children again.

Truly an unbelievable story... wtf is Sheila Polk's problem? Anyone have the goods on her, and why is she doing such a huge favor for Arizona's senate leader? Hmmm?

Outrageous and unimaginable. Damn.

[faithnotgreed]

22. thank you for that .... sickening it is

hope the judge will give the maximum
guess we shall have to wait and see

[Judi Lynn]

7. Here's a working link for the Arizona Republican senator's son:

http://www.azdailysun.com/articles/2006/04/03/news/local/20060403_local_news_7.txt

Thank you for providing the missing CONTEXT!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As a question to any DU'er who might know how to explain this, what's the procedure for e-mailing MSNBC a short blast about one's disgust they use so much space covering this story after totally blowing off any opportunity to run the far more serious story about a Republican state senator's son's involvement in sexual sadism on kids in his keeping?

Thank you very much.

[stillcool]

10. here's some...

MSNBC TV
One MSNBC Plaza
Secaucus, N.J. 07094



Jeremy Gaines, Vice President, Communications, MSNBC
[e-mail]
201/583-5362

Leslie Schwartz, Director, Media Relations
[e-mail]
201/583-5010

MSNBC Viewer Services: 201/583-4385

[Judi Lynn]

11. Thanks a lot, stillcool47. Very helpful.

:hi: :hi: :hi:

[NI4NI]

12. 5 days in jail? Bill O'Reilly will be outraged! NOT!

I doubt that you will hear a peep about this leniant prosecutor on The O'Reilly Fartor, unless of course the prosecutor and judge are Democrats.

[atreides1]

13. If this kid had done this to my son

I'd be taking the two pedophiles for a hike in the Chiricahua mountains.

[Horse with no Name]

18. I'd actively campaign that part of their mission trip

included hunting with Dick Cheney.

[onenote]

15. putting on my flame-proof suit

The Bennett case is a travesty of justice, without doubt. And it didn't receive the coverage it merited.

However, I do recall seeing it discussed on MSNBC. And the fact is, rightly or wrongly, a story involving a state legislator's kid is going to be treated as a more "local" story than a story involving the kid of member of the US House of Representatives.

What Omukunde and his pals did was wrong. Flat out wrong. As "bad" as what Bennett did? Of course not. But given the outrage (justifiable) that Democrats feel about the repub attempt to jam phone lines to block get out the vote campaign in NH, someone here should stand up and say that slashing tires on 25 buses that were going to be used for transporting voters also is outrageous.

onenote

[stillcool]

20. Not considering the media attention...

but rather considering the crimes..how do you feel about the justice system being influenced by a political party?

[onenote]

23. I agree the treatment of the Bennett case is outrageous

[Psephos]

36. I'm with you completely

If we pull thuggish tricks against political opponents then what exactly is it that makes us better? I still believe in character and principle, and those are never really tested until it is there is a cost to support them.

The Bennett case is reprehensible, but that said, that case is a strawman in this thread. Acts are either good or bad, regardless of what others do.

Peace.

[superconnected]

16. choking 3 kids till they pass out, and raping 18 kids with objects

and they may not be considered sex offenders. Those kids are scary.

How the F* does this not make national news.

Here's the senators pic.



okay, daddy was CEO of Bennetts oil company....oh, and still is - it says to present.

-----------

Current Office: State Senator
Current District: 1
First Elected: 11/03/1998
Last Elected: 11/02/2004
Next Election: Term Limited
Party: Republican

Background Information
Gender: Male
Family: Wife: Jeanne
3 Children: Ryan, Dana, Clif.
Birth date: 08/01/1959
Birthplace: Tucson, AZ
Home City: Prescott, AZ
Religion: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

Education:
BS, Accounting, Arizona State University, 1984
Attended, Yavapai College, 1978, 1981.

Professional Experience:
CEO, Bennett's Oil Company, 1984-present
Missionary, Southern Japan, 1978-1980.

Political Experience:
Senate President, Arizona State Senate, present
Senator, Arizona State Senate, 1999-present
Former President, Member, Arizona State Board of Education, 1992-1999
Member, Arizona State Charter Schools Board, 1994-1996
Council Member, Prescott City Council, 1985-1989
Prescott Vice Mayor, 1988.

Organizations:
Former Director, Education Leaders Council, 1995-present
Scout Master, Volunteer, Boy Scouts of America, 1993-1998
Coach, Prescott Little League and AYSO Soccer, 1989-1995
Director, Prescott Chamber of Commerce, 1991-1993.

Caucuses/Non-Legislative Committees:
Governor's Task Force on Education Reform, 1991-1992.

from - http://www.vote-smart.org/bio.php?can_id=CAZ13092?q=print

[superconnected]

25. wow - a faux site? with two parents of victims commenting and

friends of the accused defending him. The mother says it happened, the friends of Clifton Bennett say he wasn't capable.

"
I am the mother of one of the victims. Unless you were at the camp you have no idea what these 18 boys went through. They were intimidated & terrorized by the very people who were supposed to be teaching them "leadership". This was not "high school boys playing around" as some of you have been lead to believe. My son was forced against his will to demonstrate "choking out" a deadly game that shouldn't be taught to 12 & 13 year old boys. If the Jr. Counselors wanted control over the boys why didn't they just make them do push-ups or run a lap as a form of punishment? The broomsticking & choking out crossed the line of appropriate behavior coming from anyone, especially a politicians son! Put yourself in my place-how would you react if it happened to your son or relative? My goal is to prevent this from ever happening again!

Posted by: Mom at February 8, 2006 05:19 PM

Thank you for puting some "real" information on here from another mother. I also am a mother of one of the VICTOMS and unless you were there you don't know what really happened at that camp. Yes, these boys were abused by Kyle and Cliff. We have seen the evidence and we pray that these men are put to a trial. Everyone out there saying what a great kid CLiff is, does not have deal with a young boy who has has nightmares and walking in his sleep about this! Someone needs to see that this was not just a prank or roughing around with these boys. These were leaders of their school, they were there for our boys to turn to and to learn about leadership. Too bad that didn't take place!
"

on the same site - listed below, one of the persons defending Clifton Bennett was posting under multiple nicks - all with the same IP address, and was banned from the site.

http://216.109.125.130/search/cache?p=clif+bennett&ei=UTF-8&fr=FP-tab-web-t&x=wrt&u=www.desertratdemocrat.com/archives/2006/01/family_values_a.html&w=clif+bennett&d=CxAH7EaqMl5C&icp=1&.intl=us

[VolcanoJen]

26. Interesting, considering Bennett confessed.

:eyes:

[rodeodance]

32. wonder if Bill O'Lielly will stick his nose into this one?

[MagickMuffin]

27. Here's what Child Molesters look like

[rodeodance]

29. [e-mail] All should send to Keith.

[rodeodance]

31. and to think the AZ person wants to be teacher/counselor.

[sendero]

35. That second case..

.... just makes me seethe. If one of those kids were mine, I'd spend every dime I could scounge taking that kid to civil court and making sure he has a financial cloud (judgement) hanging over him the rest of his life.

"Non dangerous" - in what fucking universe?

[komuckway]

37. Whoops!

Story 1.
Whoops!

Story 2
Lock up the perverts and throw away the key.

[Judi Lynn]

38. I posted an early article on this story in January, when it had just been

publicized, apparently, and not much was known about it. I went back and located the article. It looks as if his dad may have decided to cancel his bid to become the Governor of Arizona, which is mentioned in passing near the bottom of this article. It would seem likely he recognized this story would be able to hurt his chances:

Ariz. senator’s son arrested in Prescott camp hazing
By Mike Branom, Tribune
January 24, 2006

The son of a top Arizona politician was one of two teenagers arrested Monday on accusations they used a broom handle to haze 18 boys at a youth leadership camp in Prescott last summer.

Clif Bennett, 18, of Prescott — son of Senate President Ken Bennett, R-Prescott — and Kyle Wheeler, 19, of Glendale were charged by the Yavapai County Attorney’s Office with 18 counts of aggravated assault and kidnapping.

The investigation began last month when a boy reported to authorities he had been held down and assaulted with a broom handle while attending the camp June 12-17.

Because the boys were clothed, no charges of a sexual nature were filed, Prescott police Lt. Pete Hodap said.

A third suspect, a juvenile, has been identified but not yet arrested or charged, Hodap said.

“As I am sure you can understand, right now I am a father concerned for the wellbeing of his son,” Ken Bennett said in a statement. “I have very few details and have had virtually no opportunity to speak with my son Clif or the authorities involved.

“Because this involves serious allegations, any further comment on it at this time would be inappropriate.”

Ken Bennett considered running in this year’s governor’s race, but announced in November that he would not seek the nomination.
(snip)

http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/index.php?sty=57674

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Have any DU'ers ever heard of ramming a broomstick in the general direction of one's bottom as a "hazing" practice? Hmmmmm.

As a DU'er upthread mentioned, it really sounds as if there is a LOT about this story which still needs to be illuminated. I think someone's kid hasn't quite come clean yet.

If these boys were entirely clothed, why do their parents indicate they are afraid to sleep without their clothes on, and only with their lights on?

Bennett, "You're doing a heckuva job" raising your lad!" :eyes:

[lonestarnot]

40. There's you five!

[The Backlash Cometh]

41. We're back to the looting versus "finding food" argument.

So, do you all know now what it feels like to be a minority in America?

[SKKY]

45. Since when is "...at least 40 incidents" not "non-repetitive"???

When your father is President of the Arizona senate I guess... :shrug:

[jasmeel]

47. As Mayor Pratt said- in Miilwaukee the police can beat a man

almost to death and get off while a property related offense gets these guys jail time!??! That is the comparison that is so indicative of the problems with our court system in Milwaukee (and elsewhere)! It really pisses me off!!!

[melissinha]

48. pairing unrelated stories to show political bias

is not logical and remeniscent of the dirty tricks Republicans and the MSM have been pulling all this time. you cannot try to minimize the crime committed by people on our side. Yes the sodomy charges are worse, but don't pull it.

Tire slashing is bad, frankly I think that the punishment is too much. But we cannot even seemingly condone this type of action. Period. These crimes were committed in two different states, that is were the difference lies. We have to be seen as the party of true moral values and the party of no dirty tricks.... Don't be a part of it.

[rinsd]

51. More comparable would be the phone jamming scam

Both had to do with restrciting the others GOTV efforts.

But even then, that was done from high up in the party. The tire slashing seems to be stupid kids.

[melissinha]

53. I agree

comparable crimes make it easier to prove a point. Remember that Sensenbrenner was all up in arms about vote fraud only with respect to Wisconsin where these kids did the tire slashing whereas the phone jamming occurred in New Hampshire... It appears as if the tire slashing was independent from official party where as the phone jamming appears to be linked to the White House....

[Judi Lynn]

50. It's appropriate to point out double standards, inequity.

It would be odd to avoid mentioning them altogether, wouldn't it?

Thanks for the post.