This bothered me, and the case is unfortunately not an isolated incident. Like the judge said, he would have liked to have an appointed person representing the child... Guardian Ad Litum. My mom did that work for awhile. It can be very depressing when you go and check out families and their living situations. I mean, for a guardian to be introduced, it has to be squalid circumstances that require the law. Also means you'll be seeing people living in poverty and dealing with substance abuse issues. Broken down trailers, alcoholism, drugs, religious matters... And it's your job to figure out who the kid is better off with. Who they "like" more, and who can take better care of them (not raping or beating, and also feeding).
Some guy didn't like my mom's suggestions, and he threatened our family--threatened to kill Mom, my dad, and my brother and me. Hollow threat, but the judge placed some kind of order on him. He's been in prison before. A lot of these people have.
See, it's rarely ever a clear-cut scenario, and this article makes you think it was. Sure, pick the mother over the child molesting father. I know that makes perfect sense. Obviously, someone didn't pay much attention to the father's issues. A representative wasn't brought is, so maybe it was as simple as asking him, "Do you feel recovered?" "Yes sir."
So why would he ask that? Desperation.
It means the mother was in bad shape too. We're looking at a potential alcoholic, druggie, child abuser, living in extreme poverty. You know, crackwhore. What kind of woman would fuck a child molester?
It goes back to the suggestions for foster homes and orphanages. As G-man mentioned, we don't have orphanages anymore. Not a bad thing, necessarily, because they were run in a worse fashion than senior homes. The reason that is bad, is because our childhood years are integral to our development. Children need attention, love, and nurturing. You neglect them, and it builds for mentality underdeveloped adults with social problems.
Now, foster homes have their pros and cons. Some are excellent and conducive to a healthy environment for children--but it depends on the people who run it. I mean, you have grandparents who had grown kids, or people who could never have kids, so they use foster homes to raise children and give them a better life. On the other hand, there are those who use it as a means of bilking the government and state out of money. They receive subsidies for the kids they take in, and they pocket some of it, and turn the kids into slaves--making their lives miserable. Some of these foster parents are sex offenders, druggies, and the like--no better than the criminal parents.
It's an imperfect system. The judge made an error in his decision, and it ruined a child's life. He is responsible for that, but other people have made similar decisions. Ultimately, it was the father who decided to molest the girl.
