“It takes a young girl to make an old man cry” — BB King
The allegations against Roy Moore are unproven. He’s not been charged with a crime. Legally, he is entitled to the presumption of innocence – if on trial for a crime. However, it does not sound good for him.
The Washington Post used 30 sources in compiling their article about Moore. They cited four named sources alleging that Moore had behaved in a sexual manner with them when they were teenaged girls, and he was a 32-year old prosecutor in a position of authority.
He wants the people of Alabama to elect him to be a U.S. Senator, as a replacement for former Senator Jeff Sessions. He’s entitled to the presumption of innocence in matters of criminal prosecution. But this isn’t that. He’s asking for votes. Voters will have to assess whether he should represent the state. He may still get elected; Alabama has some interesting history in that regard.
So far, he has denied the allegations, but not addressed them. He has had surrogates defend him, not by countering the allegations, but by suggesting it’s no big deal.
Here’s another thing: what’s wrong with a 32-year old man that he wants to “date” a 14-year old girl? Can you help me with this? Isn’t there something troubling about that? Was the “dating” done in secrecy?
“There is nothing to see here,” Jim Ziegler, Alabama State Auditor, told the Washington Examiner. “The allegations are that a man in his early 30s dated teenage girls. Even the Washington Post report says he never had sexual intercourse with any of the girls and never attempted sexual intercourse.”
Really? He never attempted to have sexual intercourse with the 14-year-old girl? Or the other girls he “dated”?
He later added: “Also take Joseph and Mary. Mary was a teenager and Joseph was an adult carpenter. They became parents of Jesus.”
Wow! Did Jim imply that Mary was an underaged girl? Does that mean that Joseph took advantage? Did Joseph enjoy sex with an underage girl? Biblical scholars differ on Mary’s age when she gave birth to Jesus, but the reports vary from age 12 to age 15. And, if he and Mary “became the parents of Jesus” does this throw a monkey wrench into the whole virgin birth story?
Or, thinking more about this startling revelation, are we to believe that God (that is, Form 3 of the Triune God) when he “came upon Mary” and “caused her to be with child,” also liked to tap into the young stuff? All Roy Moore did was make a little girl give him a hand job.
Does all this mean that Roy was just a regular guy, doing regular guy things? The allegations are that Moore undressed the 14-year old girl he was “dating” and undressed himself, and touched the girl sexually, and guided her hand to his penis for his purposes.
The age of consent in Alabama is the same as in Michigan: 16. I suspect the alleged behavior, if true, is criminal there, as here. Such actions would be classified as a felony, and a person convicted of such behavior would be subject to incarceration, and registration as a convicted sex offender.
I’m willing to hear Moore out, should he want to address the topic. Maybe the girl is lying. Maybe the other girls are too. Maybe all the witnesses who heard the story years ago are lying as well.
But another possibility is that Moore is bearing false witness against his neighbor(s) when he says the reports are all made up. His best argument thus far is that the Washington Post released the story at an inconvenient time. He’s a former prosecutor. You would think he might be happy the story didn’t come out 35 years ago.
Happy Marine Corps birthday 11-10, and Happy Veterans Day 11-11.
