Girl's dad kills accused molester, police say

[MikeG]

Sometimes the headline make your heart sink a little bit as it appears someone lost their composure and as a parent you understand completely why/how it could happen.

Then you read the story and it's like "Okay, that's exactly what should happen!! Awesome." This is one of those.

Girl's dad kills accused molester, police say

"Beat him to death with his hands." The only sad part of this story is that in 12 years, no one will ever dare date this girl.

It will be interesting if the press (not the local press, but the national liberal "no violence allowed" press will ignore their own policies on sexual assault victims and publish the name of the dad. We shall see. They already refer to the dead molester as the "victim." I'd like to point out that he is the dead perpetrator and the little girl is the victim but it would be lost on reporters.

SHINER, Texas -- A father beat to death with his hands a man who tried molesting his 4-year-old daughter after the little girl was heard screaming on the family's rural Texas ranch, authorities said Monday.

Lavaca County Sheriff Micah Harmon said the father is unlikely to be arrested for Saturday's killing and that no evidence so far has led investigators to doubt his story.

"There doesn't appear to be any reason other than what he told us," Harmon said.

Harmon said the victim was a 47-year-old man from Gonazles with no apparent prior criminal history. His name continued to be withheld Monday because authorities still hadn't tracked down any of his family.

The victim was an "acquaintance" of the father who had come to help care for some horses, Harmon said. He did not know how long the two men may have known each other. The girl was taken to a hospital to be examined and has since been released, Harmon said.

The father called police late Saturday afternoon and told them he attacked a man caught trying to sexually assault his daughter, Harmon said. The alleged attack happened near a barn where some horses were being kept.

"In the course of trying to get her away from him, and protect her, he struck the subject several times in the head and the subject died," Harmon said.

Harmon said a grand jury will decide what, if any, charges the father will face.

The victim's body was sent to the Travis County medical examiner for an autopsy.

The ranch near Shiner is about 130 miles west of Houston. Killings are rare in rural Lavaca County. Harmon said his office has only investigated six since in his eight years as sheriff.

[txinvestigator1]

Texas law provides a justification to use deadly force to protect an innocent third person when you reasonably believe the deadly force is immediately necessary to prevent the imminent commission aggravated sexual assault.

[MikeG]

Texas law provides a justification to use deadly force to protect an innocent third person when you reasonably believe the deadly force is immediately necessary to prevent the imminent commission aggravated sexual assault.

Arizona has a number of such laws as well, molestation of a child being one of them. This would be one of those. "Beating him to death with his hands" is just the bonus. "Looks justified" is the West.

The beating part is what got me. I'm not a sadist but there would be two types of satisfaction in protecting your child from this molester. A double tap to the chest would satisfy the need to protect your kid and serve justification. Emptying the entire magazine of 17 rounds into him would satisfy a completely different need and may be justified but probably only by western states. Beating him to death with your hands is the second variety only more so.

It's like being told to go work out your aggression on the heavy bag and then they point to a child molester and say "he's the heavy bag today."

This seemed much more primal than justified defense of an innocent third party. Blind justice would be interested in how many times the molester was hit and whether the hitting stopped when the threat stopped. But personally, I don't really care if he stopped as long as the engagement was continuous. Once the physical fight was on, I couldn't imagine stopping until exhaustion if it was my kid. I think a basic rage would take over. "as long as he's breathing, he's an immediate threat." I would be very grateful to live in a state or county that simply said "Father stopped sexual assault of a child in progress. Justifiable homicide. No charges."

[DolphinTattoos]

It could be my mommy instincts making my thoughts irrational... but.... I don't get from the story that there were any blows that weren't necessary. It says he was hit several times. Several is anything more than two, soooo... three blows doesn't seem excessive to me. Maybe he just has good aim?

If it was his intention to kill him, that's a different story, but also one I'm ok with. I wasn't there so I cannot judge the actions of a father protecting his baby girl. I'm pretty confident the result would have been the same if it were my husband protecting our children. It doesn't appear from the media's account that it was his intention though.

[MikeG]

No indictment. Grand Jury didn't have to meet long. Dad hit him a few times around the head and neck area (dad was 23, dead molester was late 40's.).

THe father was genuinely concerned about the guy when he called 911 and complained the guy was dying and he needed help to save him. He must have beat him pretty good as I think my only worry would have been about going to jail for murder at that point, not the molesters well-being. It didn't sound like a "lucky punch" but more like "I really beat this guy bad and he needs help." Emergency workers found the dead guy with pants/underwear around ankles and forensic exam of girl at hospital confirmed sexual assault. Sounds like prosecutor wanted GJ to return no bill because the press conference was all about the exonerating evidence. About the only bad thing I read (and it didn't bother me) was his excited utterance on the 911 call that he just "beat up" the guy raping his 5 y/o daughter. "stopped" probably would have been a better excited utterance but no one his going to blame him.

Dad won't face charges in alleged attacker's death - Times Union

[DolphinTattoos]

I got a little glossy eyed reading the story - not of sadness for the rapist though.

I feel horrible the daughter and father had to go through this. They are both scarred for life.

It does make me feel better that he will not face any charges.

[citizen12]

After reading the story, I feel like the homicide is completely justified, whether it was intentional or not. As a parent, I'm sure I would react the same way in that situation!

[Aussie George]

Arizona has a number of such laws as well, molestation of a child being one of them. This would be one of those. "Beating him to death with his hands" is just the bonus.

[GunClub]

Ya child molestation is one thing that we don't need the justice system to deal with. Anyone who is suspected of child molestation should immediately be beaten to death on the spot!

[Blackgoat06]

Really? Because I know of some bogus accusations.

[retdetsgt]

Ya child molestation is one thing that we don't need the justice system to deal with. Anyone who is suspected of child molestation should immediately be beaten to death on the spot!

Just suspected of it? Try N. Korea, you might like it there.

[fatboyjim154]

Just suspected of it? Try N. Korea, you might like it there.

We had a 'half way house' bail hostel proposed on my old division. The locals had the same idea and views so they kicked the bejaysus out of the the first 'one' they saw.

He turned out to be a legal rep of a neighbourhood group trying to stop the opening!

[txinvestigator1]

Ya child molestation is one thing that we don't need the justice system to deal with. Anyone who is suspected of child molestation should immediately be beaten to death on the spot!

Really? Suspected? PLease report to yout beating center, as I suspect you of of child molestation.

[retdetsgt]

Working sex crimes, I found that nearly all molestation accusations made by little kids were true, but they sometimes told us the wrong person was doing it. In their little minds, they wanted it to stop, but were too afraid of the person doing it.

Teenage girls are terrible about making false reports. They'd get mad at an adult male (often mom's bf) and make the allegation w/o realizing the seriousness of it. Thankfully, they usually came forward and recanted on their own before the trial. One of the cops I worked with was a foster father and one of the teenage girls he and his wife were caring for did that to him. Damn near destroyed him until the girl finally came forward and told the truth. I can't count the number of similar cases I had like that.

[marinepilot]

Working sex crimes, I found that nearly all molestation accusations made by little kids were true, but they sometimes told us the wrong person was doing it. In their little minds, they wanted it to stop, but were too afraid of the person doing it.

Teenage girls are terrible about making false reports. They'd get mad at an adult male (often mom's bf) and make the allegation w/o realizing the seriousness of it. Thankfully, they usually came forward and recanted on their own before the trial. One of the cops I worked with was a foster father and one of the teenage girls he and his wife were caring for did that to him. Damn near destroyed him until the girl finally came forward and told the truth. I can't count the number of similar cases I had like that.

And even if the girls do come forward and tell the truth before the trial, once that allegation hits the news media, that person is judged guilty in the court of public opinion and their lives are often permanently ruined.