Dad from 7th Heaven molested three girls

[Cobra-D]

http://www.tmz.com/2014/10/07/stephen-c ... stigation/

Well I didn't see this coming.

[aviel]

I heard about this on the radio. Perhaps my priorities are misplaced, but what bothered me most (or at least a lot) about this story was that his wife released tapes she made of his confession ... in therapy. It is not okay to record people in therapy and it is definitely not okay to release those recordings.

Obviously it's also not okay to molest children.

[Tesseracts]

I heard about this on the radio. Perhaps my priorities are misplaced, but what bothered me most (or at least a lot) about this story was that his wife released tapes she made of his confession ... in therapy. It is not okay to record people in therapy and it is definitely not okay to release those recordings.

Obviously it's also not okay to molest children.

That's a good point. From what I understand therapists are required to report somebody who is currently a threat, but not somebody who used to be one. I don't know this situation and I can't say if this man is a threat or not, but it's possible he is overcoming this problem.

Also. 7th Heaven is possibly the worst show ever.

How did this last so many seasons?

[aviel]

There are two things. If therapists think that there is child abuse happening, then yes, there are mandatory reporting laws in place. But a) that would be reported to CPS, not to the media, and b) it would be reported by the therapist, not the wife, and c) you cannot record people's therapy sessions regardless. Three things.

[sunglasses]

Here's the thing. She took the tapes to her lawyer. He made the confession during couples counseling, not an individual session. Therefore, it's not like she took his private sessions and made them public. And she gave them to her lawyer because when he admitted that he forced an 11 year old to touch his partly hard little 7th heaven, she was horrified and decided to get divorced.

Not sure how it got to the media tho. I assume someone leaked it.

Yeah, TMZ is not saying how they got the tapes. So claiming that the wife leaked them is a bit of assumption, Avi.

[sunglasses]

you cannot record people's therapy sessions regardless. Three things.

Actually in Cali you can if you suspect them of a felony. Sexual abuse of a child under 14 in Cali is a felony.

[FaceTheCitizen]

You can record private conversations in California if you are doing so to gather evidence to report a violent felony.

http://www.shouselaw.com/eavesdropping.html

[aviel]

Here's the thing. She took the tapes to her lawyer. He made the confession during couples counseling, not an individual session. Therefore, it's not like she took his private sessions and made them public. And she gave them to her lawyer because when he admitted that he forced an 11 year old to touch his partly hard little 7th heaven, she was horrified and decided to get divorced.

It's not primarily this I object to, it is the part where they were leaked to the media

Yeah, TMZ is not saying how they got the tapes. So claiming that the wife leaked them is a bit of assumption, Avi.

I think I had heard that the wife leaked them ,though this may have been incorrect. Regardless, if TMZ knew they were from a therapy session (i.e. a place in which one has a reasonable expectation of privacy), I do not think it was okay of them to publicize it.

And I know that in general you can record private conversations in California without the other person's consent if you suspect them of a felony, but there are additional protections in therapy sessions due to HIPAA.

[Andropov4]

Well I didn't see this coming.

Neither did the kids.

Spoiler: show

Kill me. Kill me now.

[DamianaRaven]

Spoiler: show

Kill me. Kill me now.

I got this! Lift your chin a little.

[D-LOGAN]

his wife released tapes she made of his confession ... in therapy. It is not okay to record people in therapy and it is definitely not okay to release those recordings.

The wife? But ..... hey that aint right! GOD DAMNIT AVIEL! I'm sick of all this jumping to conclusions before all the facts are gathered and people are blamed for things they didn't do, that's how mob trials get started!!!!!!

Not sure how it got to the media tho. I assume someone leaked it.

This interests me. I assume it's illegal to leak stuff like this to the media, so if they find out who did it ..... would they be in trouble, legally? Like what if someone kills the actor guy? Would the leak-er be in any way liable? Like would the argument "Hey I didn't know anyone would react that, I thought everyone liked paedophiles?" hold any water, or would they get into some kind of trouble for that?

[Jack Road]

I don't know much about the law. But I feel like molesting people is not a one-and-done kind of deal. Maybe not all the stats are there, but I don't know, I just don't see a molester going "Hey, I molested quite a bit, but now I think it is time to hang up the sweat pants and sell the van."

So in my mind I feel like if anyone ever confesses to child molestation anywhere, they should immediately be reported? And that there should not be a statute of limitations on child molestation? And that if the law doesn't reflect that sentiment, it should be changed because why the hell does it not reflect that sentiment?

[Matthew Notch]

Of course, people can change and are capable of turning back from a past course they are ashamed of. These are some atrocious things and I'm not saying I don't agree that there should be consequences. You couldn't murder someone ten years ago and be fine and dandy with the law if it came out that you definitely murdered someone. That said, I feel like it's important to look at the heart condition of the person at present, not when he or she did something terrible. I sure haven't molested any kids, but I've definitely done some crappy things in my life, and even though I can't escape the fact that some people are going to only hold me to those actions, it is still nice that most people have decided to give me another chance at being a good person.

All that aside, he probably shouldn't be allowed around young children unsupervised for a long while, until a medical professional deems it safe, if that ever happens.

[Jack Road]

No, I'm pretty sure if he molested children he should be slow roasted over an open fire and all his money should go to orphans.

I get murder. I totes get murder. But there are so many reasons for murder. There is only one reason for child molestation.

I also don't think the law should be anything but Calvinistic. There can't be any place for examining one's heart when it comes to matters of crime and punishment. I might forgive him. The law should not.

In summary. In my perfect world.

Confessing...

"I killed that guy because I was really mad." gets more time than confessing "I killed that guy because he hit me."
"I molested children" just gets you executed immediately. Like as soon as you confess.
"I molested children seven years ago but I feel really bad about it and haven't since then" just gets you executed immediately. Like as soon as you confess.

[Tesseracts]

I don't care about forgiveness. What matters is if he will do the same thing again or not. Some sex offenders repeat their crime, some do not, same as any other form of crime. I agree that child molestation is worse than murder but that doesn't mean I want to throw all human rights out the window. The only important consideration is making sure this doesn't happen again, and making people afraid to go to therapy is counterproductive towards that goal.