Karr may not face much jail time

Let's everyone give Mary Lacy a big hand for bringing this raging pedophile back to the United States to be released back into society. Way to go, Mary, just what we needed - another dirtbag to prey on our kids.


Karr's first court appearance today
Former substitute teacher skipped court date in 2001 on charges of possessing child pornography
By JEREMY HAY
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

http://www1.pressdemocrat.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060914/NEWS/609140331/1033/NEWS01


John Mark Karr, his international infamy fading into the realm of bizarre trivia since DNA evidence undid his claim that he killed JonBenet Ramsey, is to appear in Sonoma County court today in relation to old charges of possessing child pornography.

Karr, 41, briefly a substitute teacher in Petaluma and Napa in 2001, was extradited Tuesday to Sonoma County from Boulder, Colo., where he'd been jailed since Aug. 24, a week after his arrest in Thailand on suspicion of Ramsey's murder.

On Aug. 28, Boulder prosecutors, poised to charge him with murder and sexual assault in connection with the 1996 killing, dropped their case against Karr, saying his DNA didn't match samples taken from the Ramsey crime scene.

Today in Superior Court Judge Cerena Wong's courtroom, the arrest warrant issued after Karr skipped a 2001 court date is to be recalled. The process of setting a trial date will then go forward, said Assistant District Attorney Larry Scoufos.

"We're going to pick up where we left off," Scoufos said.

Karr's father, Wexford Karr, speaking from his Atlanta home, said, "We went through the worst, I guess, in Colorado."

Wexford Karr, 85, said he learned only from a reporter who called him from England that his son was moved to Sonoma County, and that they haven't spoken since a brief visit in the Boulder jail.

"The only thing we can do is wait for him to call us collect, and he hasn't been calling," he said. Asked what he would say to his son, he said, "I don't know that there's much you can say - 'I love you, John.'"

In Sonoma County, John Karr is charged with five misdemeanor counts of possessing child pornography. Sheriff's deputies in 2001 found computer images at Karr's Petaluma home that they say show children in sexual situations.

Karr's attorneys have demanded a speedy trial, meaning prosecutors have until Oct. 5 to begin trial. If Karr is released on bail - something his attorneys concede is unlikely - prosecutors would have an additional 15 days to start trial.

District Attorney Stephan Passalacqua has said that because Karr spent six months in custody in 2001, he probably won't face much more jail time, but if he's convicted, he would be required to register as a sex offender for life.

Sheriff's detectives have reopened the investigation to determine if more evidence may be recoverable from Karr's computers seized five years ago, but in a statement issued Wednesday, Passalacqua said Karr faces only the original five counts.

Asked if the reopened investigation has produced additional evidence that may be used against Karr, Scoufos said only that: "We're starting to look again at the evidence we have, and it's conceivable we could find new evidence up to the time the case is resolved."

He said the District Attorney's Office does not have a laptop computer seized from Karr in Thailand, a computer Boulder authorities said was given to Sonoma County authorities as evidence in their case.

Television crews converged on the Sonoma County Jail on Wednesday, but the story's profile has dimmed along with Karr's credibility.

In Atlanta, at the height of the media storm, the crush of reporters on Wexford Karr's street caused some of his neighbors to leave home, he said.

"I hadn't realized what went on in the world," he said. "I'm 85 and hadn't realized what a show it is, the media."

Also on Wednesday, some longtime former Sonoma County prosecutors said they couldn't recall a district attorney going to the lengths that Passalacqua has in extraditing someone facing misdemeanor charges.

"In my tenure with the office, no misdemeanor defendant was ever extradited, and some felonies were not brought back," said Kathy Knott, who retired in August after 20 years as a prosecutor.

Asked if Passalacqua would have moved to extradite if Karr had not attained such notoriety, Scoufos said, "It depends."

If it were someone with "the exact same background as this guy - someone who was a teacher, who had access to children - I would say we'd have made the same decision," he said.

 

Abusing her power to help the prime suspects AND bringing a dangerous child-molester back to the US.

Give her a stinking medal!

 

OK, so they found 5 photos on his computer that they say are "child pornography". The first question has to be, is it REAL child porn, or is it that crap where they get "barely legal" teens to dress up like younger girls?

Right away, I tend to think that someone who is really into child pornography is going to have more than 5 photos on the computer. Where these photos actually "banner ads" that popped up and got stored in his browser's cache?

If they have a trial and a jury can't tell the real ages of the people in the photos, we just might see him walk out with a "not guilty" verdict.

 

So Karr will register as a sex offender...big deal. That won't stop Karr. He will hightail it back to Thailand in a snap. Wait and see, he's not going to give up his cheap sex change operation in Thailand that easily. :steamed:

And Mary Lacy! My gawd :moron:.

 

I cannot see her still holding the position of District Attorney, WY. Can you? Surely, she can see the writing on the wall herself(?).

 

Lacy is on her last term, because of term limits. She'll either retire or go into private practice, I'd guess.

Maybe she can work for Haddon.

You all know that if Lacy had only called Thailand LE and said, hey, look at the evidence we have against John Karr that he's about to molest a child in his classroom in your country, they'd have locked him up for life, if he made it to prison.

As one writer said...like they need a reason to arrest anyone in Thailand.

Karr would have been history and away from children for good.

But don't let these facts interfere with the excuses being made on behalf of Mary Lacy and Boulder and Colorado for bringing such a perv back to our country, where a child killer can be elevated to the status of saintly and the model of good parenting.

 

She's already got a raise, a big one from what I remember.

 

I never could see her holding the position of DA, Elle. I didn't think she was any too bright, especially when she fell in with Smit's intruder theory. I don't think any of the assistant DA's we did hear about when Hunter was in office were any too bright, especially Pete Hoffman and Trip DeMuth. In fact, they were all pains in the as$. Just think, DeMuth could be the next DA - Boulder will probably love him and elect him.

 

She got a raise? Now I KNOW I'm in the wrong business!

"But don't let these facts interfere with the excuses being made on behalf of Mary Lacy and Boulder and Colorado for bringing such a perv back to our country, where a child killer can be elevated to the status of saintly and the model of good parenting."

No bull!

"Just think, DeMuth could be the next DA - Boulder will probably love him and elect him."

God, what an awful thought! Isn't there ANYONE to run against these Commisars, or is it like the Soviet Union?

 

snip...

oops - another piece of evidence that goes missing.... :x I guess no chain of custody, eh?

 

"He [Scoufos] said the District Attorney's Office does not have a laptop computer seized from Karr in Thailand, a computer Boulder authorities said was given to Sonoma County authorities as evidence in their case."

I agree, Niner. Where is that computer, and why is Sonoma County denying getting it and Mary Keenan claiming Boulder turned it over? If there's anything illegal on it, the FBI has solid basis for federal charges that could keep Karr locked up and society safe.

Tylin: "So Karr will register as a sex offender...big deal. That won't stop Karr. He will hightail it back to Thailand in a snap. Wait and see, he's not going to give up his cheap sex change operation in Thailand that easily. "

Ty, Karr can't go back to Thailand. The U.S. revoked his visa. I doubt Karr will be traveling outside the country unless he finds a way to do so illegally.

Since Karr's charges in Sonoma County are only misdemeanors, under CA statutes, the max sentence he could get if guilty is a year under each charge, or 5 years max for all, plus 6 months for the flight charge. Since he's already spent 6 months in a Sonoma County jail, the judge may well grant a "time served" request by defense counsel, reducing the maximum sentence to 5 years. My guess is his lawyer's will plea bargain him out to a few months jail time, lifetime registration (which means he will have to notify authorities where he is living at all times, not that he will) and probation. Yes, he could well be free on the streets of America again soon until he commits a felony crime, then he will go bye-bye for a long, long time. But he will leave victims behind to be sure.

 

Deja Nu,
Thanks for the correction. After serving his time, I only hope that LE will keep a tight reign on Karr because of his obvious attraction to young girls.

 

Ty, at this point, Karr is only a very low level sex offender IF he's found guilty or pleads guilty on those misdemeanor CA charges. In that case, he will need to register with authorities as a sex offender wherever he goes, but that doesn't mean he will or that LE will do anything if he doesn't. SOP in those cases is to wait until he re-offends. Once he has a record as a repeat offender, chances for longer incarcerations are much better. Till then, he'll probably do a little time in Sonoma County then be free to wander again.

If by some quirk of fate Karr is found not guilty of the CA misdemeanor charges, he will not register as a sex offender and be free to wander the streets of America again.

The problem with the system is that it isn't preventative, merely punitive, and that's why so many kids are being abducted, raped and murdered by pedophiles. "They" claim lack of money as the cause. But with judges around the country, as we've seen lately, merely giving the egregious repeat offenders slaps on the wrists, it is clearly not a money issue and the travesty and jeopardy to our children will continue. :burnedup:

 

At this point we only know two things about John Karr:

1) He may or may not have been in possession of 5 photos of child porn.

2) He is a bonafide nutcase.

There is no law against mental illness, and we cannot force people to take medication. So if he is found not guilty on the child porn, he has just as much right to wander the streets as every other person out walking around mumbling to themself.

 

"So if he is found not guilty on the child porn, he has just as much right to wander the streets as every other person out walking around mumbling to themself."

And every child in America has the right to grow up healthy and happy in a place that is free from life-threatening risks from known predators, BlueStrat. How do we as a society balance the rights of the defenseless and innocent against the rights of potentially deadly whackos?

 

Lock and Load!!! Ha ha

Heymom

 

It's also possible Karr may not live to see the light of day if he does wander through the streets and is recognized, I'm thinking. There might be some brave vigilantes around (?).

 

Deja,
I ask myself that same question every time I walk through the local park and see the bizarre homeless people sitting on benches across from the kids on the playground equipment!

 

:bullseye: OPEN SEASON! - Tasers for everyone! :yow:

:rolling:

 

Don't EVEN get me started on the rights of the mentally ill in this country being turned out by the hundreds from every psych facility onto the streets, Bluesy. I've got so many soap boxes now I'm getting chest pains. :wtf: