密歇根新闻广播 野营顾问发布儿童色情照片被判刑

Two summers ago, something happened that gave parents nightmares throughout the Detroit area. A 20-year-old camp counselor¹ at a Jewish community center was discovered to have been secretly photographing little boys naked and posting them on a Russian child porn website.

He also had written vivid fantasy descriptions of doing things to them, though a massive investigation³ turned up no evidence that he had ever touched a child.

He was then tried and convicted in federal court on child pornography charges. Earlier this week, the former counselor, Matthew Kuppe, was sentenced to 10 years in prison. That will be followed by seven years of supervision⁴ after he gets out. That is the result of a plea bargain agreement between the attorneys. But absolutely no one is happy with this.

Not the parents of the children involved, not the defense⁵ attorney, and not the judge, Avern Cohn, who has been criticized for allegedly caring more about the defendant's rights and feelings than those of the children involved.

Some were horrified⁶ when, while Kuppe was awaiting trial, the judge allowed him to remain at home with his parents on an electronic tether under strict conditions – he couldn't go near a computer, for example -- rather than being in a prison cell.

Well, I've known Judge Cohn for a long time. He is often irascible, but he is extremely rational, and motivated entirely⁷ by the law. His decision to allow Kuppe to remain under what amounted to house arrest was based on that he had no prior record, and there was no evidence that he represented any danger to the community away from the internet.

But now he'll spend close to a decade in prison. Even his own attorney acknowledged that he deserves punishment. But how does this sentence serve society?

When Kuppe is released what prospects⁸ will he have to build a life? Who will hire a convicted child pornographer on the sex offender⁹ list?

There are many cases like this. There are those, including some of the parents of the children whose privacy was violated, who want something like revenge.

But we are talking about someone who seems to have been mentally ill, and who has been undergoing intensive treatment since his arrest – treatment he won't get in prison.

I think what the judge said in the courtroom after the sentencing is worth considering: “What I say not is not to diminish in any way the severity of the defendant's conduct or the pain he had inflicted,” but “there is nothing in the criminal justice system that can reverse what happened in the past,” or lessen¹⁰ the pain some have felt.

Cohn quoted experts in the field, including the United States Sentencing Commission, as saying that the guidelines in child pornography cases are hopelessly out of date.

“No rational system of sentencing … would impose on him imprisonment¹¹ for 10 years,” he said.

But the judge had no choice. Looked at rationally, this is clearly a troubled young man who does need massive mental health treatment. But society will pay far more to keep him locked up instead – vastly increasing the odds¹² that he will be a danger to society when he does get out.

Sometimes, as Charles Dickens said, the law really is an ass².

1 counselor   

n.顾问，法律顾问

参考例句：

• The counselor gave us some disinterested advice.顾问给了我们一些无私的忠告。
• Chinese commercial counselor's office in foreign countries.中国驻国外商务参赞处。

2 ass   

n.驴；傻瓜，蠢笨的人

参考例句：

• He is not an ass as they make him.他不象大家猜想的那样笨。
• An ass endures his burden but not more than his burden.驴能负重但不能超过它能力所负担的。

3 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

4 supervision   

n.监督，管理

参考例句：

• The work was done under my supervision.这项工作是在我的监督之下完成的。
• The old man's will was executed under the personal supervision of the lawyer.老人的遗嘱是在律师的亲自监督下执行的。

5 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

6 horrified   

a.(表现出)恐惧的

参考例句：

• The whole country was horrified by the killings. 全国都对这些凶杀案感到大为震惊。
• We were horrified at the conditions prevailing in local prisons. 地方监狱的普遍状况让我们震惊。

7 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

8 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

9 offender   

n.冒犯者，违反者，犯罪者

参考例句：

• They all sued out a pardon for an offender.他们请求法院赦免一名罪犯。
• The authorities often know that sex offenders will attack again when they are released.当局一般都知道性犯罪者在获释后往往会再次犯案。

10 lessen   

vt.减少，减轻；缩小

参考例句：

• Regular exercise can help to lessen the pain.经常运动有助于减轻痛感。
• They've made great effort to lessen the noise of planes.他们尽力减小飞机的噪音。

11 imprisonment   

n.关押，监禁，坐牢

参考例句：

• His sentence was commuted from death to life imprisonment.他的判决由死刑减为无期徒刑。
• He was sentenced to one year's imprisonment for committing bigamy.他因为犯重婚罪被判入狱一年。

12 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？