Man gets 10 yrs probation for sexually molesting 2 yr old, no sex offender registration required

[MelissaB]

in San Angelo, Texas.

SAN ANGELO, Texas - About 30 deputies mostly on horseback met a crowd of over 200 protesters on the front lawn of the Tom Green County Courthouse Monday morning.

People gathered around 8 a.m. to protest a recent plea agreement involving Thomas Boden and Jason Ferguson, assistant district attorney for the 51st Judicial District.

The protesters were made up mostly of women wearing pink holding posters and signs emblazoned with messages such as "Justice for Annabelle," "No excuse for rape or violence" and "This will never be ok."

The protest was peaceful, starting with speech from Karla Payne, executive director for the Concho Valley Rape Crisis Center. As the protest continued, one mother came up to the mike and spoke bluntly about the case and denouncing Tom Green policing authorities. This sparked a line of people speaking angrily about the case as well.

This is a developing story.

Link: http://www.gosanangelo.com/news/local-news/protestors-gather-at-courthouse_67255264

More from another article:

Last week Boden, 29, received 10 years deferred adjudication after pleading guilty to injury of a child, stemming from a January incident involving a 2-year-old girl. The plea agreement resulted in the dismissal of one charge of aggravated sexual assault of a child and a charge of indecency with a child by contact.

“There is no justice for the victim,” attendee Kay Hickey said Saturday. “They suffer for the rest of their life.”

Kendra Neumann and Kassia Jaramillo, social work students at Angelo State University, said the poster-making event helped bring the community together for a good cause and helped build awareness about an important issue.

“Ten years’ probation is a slap on the wrist,” Jarmillo said. “Our justice system is not harsh enough.”

When asked for comment, Assistant District Attorney for the 51st District Jason Ferguson said, “In this case, we were dealing with a child who was 2 years old at the time of the offense, no adult witnesses, but serious injuries. When we were looking at our options, my primary concern was for the best interest of the child, including considering what going through the rigors of trial preparation and testimony in front of a jury would be like for a toddler.”

Link: http://www.gosanangelo.com/news/local-news/protest-set-to-decry-mans-plea-agreement

[CoffeeCat]

1. What kind of a message does this send to the pedophiles...

..out there?

Go ahead--rape and physically injure toddlers--because the prosecutors lack the will to punish pedophiles.

I don't believe for a second that this is about "concern for the child." When you don't punish a man for raping a two-year-old little girl--that is a gift to the pedophile, not the victim.

A two year old probably wouldn't be put on the stand. Her physical injuries are enough.

This is such gross negligence and poor decision making. Good thing these protesters stood up for this young girl and shined a light on what idiots these idiots from Texas have done.

What an injustice!

[joshcryer]

7. +1, weak prosecutor, pathetic result.

WTF were they thinking. They had physical evidence. Should've taken it to trial unless the guy copped to at least a decade. (25 is more like it, I'm just saying, lowest bar here.)

But I think there would be a cause for the toddler to be put on the stand at least to determine who did what or where. This falls under the "confrontation clause" and the defense (not the prosecution) would be the ones wanting to "cross examine" the toddler. (Know full and well by the time the trial happened the kid would be speaking.)

[Solly Mack]

2. No words

[Mnemosyne]

3. Wish he had been caught with some cannabis. I wish this was unbelievable... nt

[LuvNewcastle]

10. Put the stoners in jail and

let pedophiles go free. This is some country.

[Mnemosyne]

12. Seriously backwards sentencing here. Yeah, some country. nt

[Phlem]

4. This is fucked up.

[sarisataka]

5. I am absolutely against

The death penalty- but some days it is really hard.

considering what going through the rigors of trial preparation and testimony in front of a jury would be like for a toddler.”

are they going to throw a two-year old on the stand to be grilled by Perry Mason??

[CoffeeCat]

9. What jury wouldn't be seething over that?

Seriously. The defense is going to grill a toddler about her own rape?

There's no way the defense would even try to do that. Can you imagine how that would look to a jury.

Something is off with this prosecutor.

He could have played hardball with the pedophile and forced a deal. Pedophiles are weak cowards. After all, they derive a sense of power from powering up on children. That creep probably would have taken a deal, and at least served some time. It is rare that there is such substantial physical evidence in cases like these.

I don't know what that prosecutor was thinking.

Again--These protesters are our conscience. They reflect what society really thinks and believes. Not this incompetent prosecutor. If it was up to the public, most pedophiles would die by public execution.

[joshcryer]

6. I understand the DA's argument but the sentence is pathetic.

The DA failed hard here.

[davidpdx]

8. I think the article is poorly written,

as I had to read them twice to understand what the author meant.

Especially the 2nd paragraph of the first article. Really it should read ". . . recent plea agreement involving the defendant, Thomas Boden, and Jason Ferguson, Assistant District Attorney for the 51st Judicial District."

[brer cat]

11. Ferguson needs to be unemployed at the first opportunity.

That is a horrendously wrong decision. My heart goes out to the child and family...no justice here, and he is free to molest at will.

[snooper2]

13. Thomas Boden 29 San Angelo

?itok=D29NKFE_

[Duppers]

14. He left the baby in a pool of blood!

Horrible disgusting person! What the Hell is wrong with Texas?!






https://www.rawstory.com/2015/09/texas-man-walks-free-after-alleged-rape-leaves-2-year-old-girl-in-pool-of-blood/

[Recursion]

15. WTF? Meanwhile somebody gets caught urinating in public and can wind up on the registry?

[vanlassie]

16. He's going to do it again. OMG.

[demmiblue]

17. Holy hell. Rawstory (be warned, beyond disturbing):

Rosser said that by the time officers showed up at her home, her daughter was screaming, “My butt, my butt!”

“So I laid her down and opened her diaper to find an enormous amount of blood and a clear vaginal tear,” Rosser wrote. “I asked Annabelle what happened and she said, ‘Tom hurt me with his hand.’ I ran outside screaming and crying, pushed past several cops and asked Thomas if he touches my daughter. He didn’t say a word, but had a slight grin on his face.”

According to Rosser, the hospital confirmed that her daughter had been sexually assaulted, and her 4-year-old daughter said that she had seen the attack.

“She told me Tom held Annabelle down on the floor holding a shirt over her face while she was screaming and ‘cut’ her private area with his hands,” Rosser noted. “Later I searched the house and found another diaper and TONS of bloody wipes in the trash along with empty beer cans. All was taken into evidence with Thomas’ DNA all over it. He never even tried to hide the evidence.”

http://www.rawstory.com/2015/09/texas-man-walks-free-after-alleged-rape-leaves-2-year-old-girl-in-pool-of-blood/


This monster should never, ever be near a child again. He should be in prison where he belongs.

[MelissaB]

18. Thanks for this update.

I just saw this posted on fb as well.

[sir pball]

19. Q for any legal experts, can certain charges be non-dismissable?

Like the ones here, or weapons charges (usually the first to be bargained away)?

Seems to me some things shouldn't hinge on "prosecutorial discretion"..