Retired Pennsylvania cop gets 17 years in prison, for ten counts of using a computer to solicit a child
Retired Pennsylvania cop gets 17 years in prison, for ten counts of using a computer to solicit a child
What a coincidence that this cop never did anything that landed himself in jail for his whole career, but then after he retired, he suddenly turned abusive. /s
I don't know exactly what he did, but 17 years seems excessive for what is described in the article. I wouldn't be surprised if the plea deal was specifically giving a long sentence on this sort of crime so that another crime could be dropped.
Like, let's say that in addition to all of these computer chats, he actually abused a child in person. If he pleads guilty to that, he might have a hard time in prison. Also, the child he abused might have the truth come out. So, they figured they'd let him plead to this other crime to save everybody embarrassment, because he's going to die in prison, anyways. It's just a theory to explain why the sentence seems long.
May I ask why you think that sentence is excessively long? It's ten counts. I don't know anything about VA law, but in some states the maximum sentence for one count of child solicitation is five years, so it could have been a lot longer.
Edit: changed PA to VA whoops
Look, I had a comment typed out to explain this, but I don't think people act rationally when it comes to cases involving children, so even if I can perfectly explain why I think it, I'd expect a neverending fight and tons of shitty downvoters.
I think it's enough to say that it just seems surprising to get 17 years in prison if nobody was physically harmed.