Rage

That's the best way to describe my reaction to this article.

If you haven't been following the story, here's a quick recap. Two camp counselors, Clifton Bennett and Kyle Wheeler, repeatedly inserted foreign objects, including broomsticks and flashlights, between the buttocks of 18 boys at a leadership camp in Yavapai County, Arizona. The boys ranged from 11 to 14 years old. When the two camp counselors were arrested, they were each charged with 18 counts of aggravated assault and 18 of kidnapping. They confessed that they had perpetrated this heinous acts against the children.

Seems like an open-and-shut case, right?

Wrong. Bennett is the son of a Republican state Senator and wealthy businessman from Prescott.

Bennett, 18, and Wheeler, 19, have been offered a plea agreement in spite of their confessions. Prosecutors have agreed to drop all but one assault charge for Bennett and two for Wheeler if they plead guilty. Prosecuting attorney James Landis will recommend little or no jail time.

Landis offers several pathetic justifications for giving the young men slaps on the wrist. First, he says that the incidents were just part of a 'hazing'. Second, he says there was no sexual intent in their acts. The final and most appalling reason is that Bennett and Wheeler aren't gay.

Yavapai County Attorney Sheila Polk released a statement attempting to justify this insanity. However, even a cursory glance at the 51-page police report reveals that her statement grossly oversimplifies the crimes. She says that the acts weren't sexual assault because the boys were wearing clothes. She does not mention that Bennett and Wheeler threatened the boys with violence if they ever told anyone. Nor does she mention that Bennett and Wheeler had an accomplice, Ren McGee, who at times held the boys down while they assaulted them. McGee has not been charged.

Aside from the technicalities, the police report makes it clear that these children's lives have been shaken. Theirs is a long, treacherous road to recovery. Their sexual lives will always be affected by this experience. Some, with love and support, will transform their trauma into strength, but it will take many years. What does it matter whether they had clothes on or not... whether their attackers intended to derive sexual pleasure or just to terrorize them? These petty details mean nothing to the boys and their families. Has Polk considered the long-term effects the abuse will have on their well-being? Probably not. Would Polk think it was sexual assault if someone came up from behind, held her down, and "broomsticked" her over her pants? I bet she would.

Polk has failed miserably to fight for justice. She has done a terrible disservice to the victims and their families. She has missed the opportunity to ensure that Bennett, Wheeler, and McGee receive psychiatric evaluation and treatment. She has sent the message that violence against children, even sexual violence, is nothing more than a harmless prank. In other words, she failed to do her job. She has failed Yavapai County.

I hope they remember this the next time she is up for re-election.