Pioneer Press wrote:A Burnsville man was sentenced to 750 years in prison for creating at least 29 pornographic images of prepubescent girls in his basement.
The tip-off that helped investigators put him away: a Brownie uniform in the background of one of his photographs.
The sentence handed down to Bruce W. Betcher in U.S. District Court on Monday is believed to be one of the longest in U.S. history for the manufacture and possession of child pornography.
In May 2006, Betcher, 53, was convicted after a weeklong jury trial on 24 counts of manufacturing child porn, one count of receipt of child porn and one count of possession of child porn.
In sentencing him Monday, Judge James M. Rosenbaum, chief judge of the U.S. District Court in Minneapolis, called Betcher's crime "an utterly unconscionable act," according to a statement from the U.S. attorney's office.
"There are some crimes for which there is no excuse," Rosenbaum said.
The 750-year sentence took even some seasoned defense attorneys and federal law enforcement officials aback. Authorities were attempting to determine if it was a new record for a child pornography case.
"Have I ever heard of a longer sentence in Minnesota? The answer is no. Nothing like that," said Earl Gray, a St. Paul attorney whose major practice is in federal court. "(Rosenbaum) is usually pretty fair."
And I'd just like to make sure this little gem was in here...
Gray said Betcher could appeal his sentence, but he said he was not likely to gain much sympathy from the federal appeals courts in Minnesota.
"If you appeal the sentence to the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, they'll probably give him 1,500 years," Gray said. "They're tougher than Rosenbaum."
It will certainly make future possible offenders think twice before taking pics. Or these people are so insanely sick and twisted that they won't care. Or... are they people? Should we classify these people as animals/beasts? ... If we did we could.. you know.. put them down.
hmmmmmm, thats just rediculous... Just say you will be in jail the rest of your life. 750 yrs is kinda pointless...
Whats he gonna appeal anyways?? Get the sentence cut down to 300years??
jack ass.
"In May 2006, Betcher, 53, was convicted after a weeklong jury trial on 24 counts of manufacturing child porn, one count of receipt of child porn and one count of possession of child porn."
Based on that quote, assuming it was making the videos and not just copying DVDs, I think he got off light.
Hopefully he'll be in general population when word leaks of his crime.
What saves a man is to take a step. Then another step. – C. S. Lewis
10sun wrote:I'm curious if it was even really child pornography rather than some girl who looked like a child?
If you follow the link they said they traced him to 6-10 girls. One of them said emphatically he took the pics.
Inside each person lives two wolves. One is loyal, kind, respectful, humble and open to the mystery of life. The other is greedy, jealous, hateful, afraid and blind to the wonders of life. They are in battle for your spirit. The one who wins is the one you feed.
The Kizzy wrote:Well, at least its a start. This case can now set prescedence.
I'm tired of seeing light to laughable sentences handed down for criminals that exploit children in a sexual manner.
Harrison wrote:750 years for pictures...
Less than 15 for rape...
Not that either crime is better or worse, but I do think the punishment should be more harsh when a child is the victim. That being said it wasn't just one count on him, I would think the sentence for 29 counts of rape would be more then 15 years.
Raymond S. Kraft wrote:The history of the world is the history of civilizational clashes, cultural clashes. All wars are about ideas, ideas about what society and civilization should be like, and the most determined always win.
Those who are willing to be the most ruthless always win. The pacifists always lose, because the anti-pacifists kill them.
Evermore wrote:he should be peeing into a bag thru a tube where his dick was
That's the *first* thing that comes to mind for all male sexual offenders who are convicted beyond the shadow of a doubt.
For both male and female offenders, I think it'd be pretty cool to also throw in being tied down, pour sugar water on their nether regions, and unleashing a couple hundred hordes of fire ants on them for a little while.
To play the devil's advocate, castration for pedophiles is a bad idea due to the fact that children are VERY easy to manipulate into false testimony. I'd hate to see some innocent dude get their junk cut off. D:
Yamori: that's why I said beyond the shadow of a doubt. I'm talking about cases where you find unquestionable proof (physical tearing, DNA, first hand eye witness, whatever, etc.).
10sun: correct, because it's not always necessarily a sexual impulse, and usually when the courts talk about castration, they are talking about chemical castration via drugs. However, I am talking about jagged, rusty, no anesthesia, fucked up razor sawing off your member after injecting said member with enough cocaine to ensure a hard on type castration. It may not kill their impulses, but I will bet they'll think twice before acting on those impulses again.
Trielelvan wrote:Yamori: that's why I said beyond the shadow of a doubt. I'm talking about cases where you find unquestionable proof (physical tearing, DNA, first hand eye witness, whatever, etc.).
10sun: correct, because it's not always necessarily a sexual impulse, and usually when the courts talk about castration, they are talking about chemical castration via drugs. However, I am talking about jagged, rusty, no anesthesia, fucked up razor sawing off your member after injecting said member with enough cocaine to ensure a hard on type castration. It may not kill their impulses, but I will bet they'll think twice before acting on those impulses again.
