We Demand Ben Berkstressers’ Resignation.
EVENT: We are standing up for the injustice suffered by a 12 yr old victim of child rape who didn’t have a voice. We are demanding the resignation or removal of Ben Berkstresser from the position of Webster County Prosecutor.
Our nation’s and state’s courts are the final defenses of democracy.
Our symbol of justice is Lady Justice, who wears a blindfold, representing the idea that Justice is Blind. It is to be delivered objectively and impartially.
Race should not matter. Gender should not matter. Religion should not matter.
Justice is only justice when it is “Justice For All”.
Every day, we see cases in the news in which Lady Justice is no longer being honored. That is happening in Washington, D.C., our nation’s capital. It is happening in every major city, where justice is clearly not being delivered.
It is not being honored in Webster County. Two young men from Webster County’s Seymour, MO, pleaded guilty recently to molestation charges against their own sister. And make no mistake….this was not molestation, this was rape. This was the rape that resulted in impregnating a 12-year-old girl.
The Webster County Prosecutor offered them a plea agreement to keep the two men from going to prison. Not to serve justice, but to save them from what would likely be an unpleasant situation for them in prison.
First, this is disrespect towards their sister, the victim. Second, this is not equal justice under the law. If these men were not white, there is no doubt there would have been a different sentence. They are being allowed to hide behind their religion. This obviously is a violation of our American principle of separation of church and state.
This is a travesty of justice on every count. These two brothers, Aaron C.M. Schwartz, age 22, and Petie C.M. Schwartz, 18, pleaded guilty to two felony counts of third-degree child molestation. Not a severe enough nor accurate enough charge. Each received a 15-year-prison sentence, which was suspended.
Ben Berkstresser Does Not Stand for Justice
Webster County Prosecutor Ben Berkstresser said the victim was a minor when the crimes occurred. And she was impregnated by one of her abusers. The two accused were initially charged with statutory rape and a felony count of incest. Both have been placed on probation and ordered 100 hours of community service and $250 to the Law Enforcement Restitution Fund. They are to attend a program for sex offenders.
So, what is the justice for rape and ruining a little girl’s life? They have to write a letter of apology to their community. Not to the victim, mind you, but to the community. And this is not all; two other brothers from this family, both minors, engaged in the same behavior…rape of their sister.
All of this is entirely unconstitutional. We demand justice for this young woman. We can not stand for hypocrisy. No more special privileged class at the expense of girls. No more hiding behind religion as a defense for the indefensible. The day of reckoning with injustice is here. This Lady of Justice refuses to be silenced. She is speaking up for her sister.
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