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Oct-12-2012 14:12
Tattoos Lead to 'Rape' Charges in Oregon
Political Perspective by Tim King Salem-News.comBut what is rape in Oregon?
 Courtesy: examiner.com |
(SACRAMENTO, CA) - 18-year old Stephen Matt Lister screwed up, there is no question about it. Police say he has been giving tattoos to underage girls and that he had sex with at least two high school girls in the process.
 Lister |
Reading the latest press release about this 'big time' arrest in Oregon makes me, quite frankly, roll my eyes. Oregon, the state where the lives of young junior high aged boys are turned upside down for having slapped a female student on the buttocks, making them 'sex offenders'. In fact that case happened in Yamhill County, where this new tattoo crime case is based.
Because he is 18 and the girls are not, Lister is charged with multiple counts of 'Rape' which is a stupid misuse of terminology as the girls were in all likelihood not raped; they participated in sex willingly, but because of their age being under 18, they were 'raped' according to police.
With Oregon's use of the term 'rape', the deletion of the word 'statutory' makes it sound like every case involving an underage person involved forcible rape. This is one of the Oregon prosecutor's favorite little tricks; in fact you could fairly say it is a district attorney's dream, because they get to say 'rape rape rape' at court proceedings when the victims were not forced to have sex.
But the terminology problems don't stop there.
This young man who was 17 just a year earlier, is also charged with 'Sodomy' which is a word that absolutely says 'anal sex' but not in Oregon. In this state, any sex act other than standard intercourse is called 'Sodomy' and don't the prosecutors love that also? A blow job is sodomy. What a bunch of backward prudes.
Detectives from the Newberg-Dundee Police Department say they arrested Stephen Lister after two 15 year old females reportedly came forward and confirmed he had sex with them.
- On September 26, 2012 the School Resource Officer from the Newberg-Dundee Police Department was contacted by the nurse at the Newberg High School. She informed the SRO that she had received information about a male student giving other students tattoos. During the investigation the SRO and Detectives learned the same male had been having sexual relationships with underage girls, who are also attending the high school.
- After conducting many interviews the SRO was able to identify ten separate victims with tattoos. All ten victims showed their tattoo's and allowed the officer to photograph them upon request. All of the victims said the tattoos were given by Stephen Matt Lister at his apartment on separate occasions. The apartment is located at 2700 Haworth #21 in Newberg Oregon.
- During this investigation detectives found over 20 photographs on Lister's phone that appear to be more homemade tattoos. The Newberg-Dundee Police Department is concerned that appropriate sanitation practices were not used, which can lead to serious infections or spread disease.
Stephen Matt Lister, 18, residing in Newberg was arrested and lodged in the Yamhill County Jail on the following charges:
* 10 counts of Performing Services in a Field Of Practice Without a License * Three counts of Sex Abuse in the Third Degree * Two counts of Sodomy in the Third Degree * Three counts of Rape in the Third Degree
Stephen Matt Lister's security amount(bail) is listed at $150,000.
The world is in such terrible shape. The U.S. government endorses and directly supports governments that sanction and allow the abuse of human beings on a daily basis. This is a land of hypocrisy and while Mr. Lister made a number of mistakes, they are likely not as severe as the laws that will be used to judge and punish him.
Those are my two cents.
 Tim King in 2008, covering the Iraq War |
Tim King has more than twenty years of experience on the west coast as a television news producer, photojournalist, reporter and assignment editor. Tim is Salem-News.com's Executive News Editor. His background includes covering the war in Afghanistan in 2006 and 2007, and reporting from the Iraq war in 2008. Tim is a former U.S. Marine.
Tim holds awards for reporting, photography, writing and editing from The Associated Press the National Coalition of Motorcyclists, the Oregon Confederation of Motorcycle Clubs, Electronic Media Association and The Red Cross In a personal capacity, Tim has written 2,026 articles as of March 2012 for Salem-News.com since the new format designed by Matt Lintz was launched in December, 2005.
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Sally From Yamhill County October 14, 2012 8:12 pm (Pacific time)
Yamhill County likes to prosecute, prosecute, and prosecute - regardless of the situation. Several years ago they prosecuted a 20yo for "rape" because his girlfriend was under 17 - the 20yo and the girl’s father got into an argument and the dad called and reported that his daughter was having sex with a 20yo - Yamhill County prosecuted (even though the parents knew that there was sexual intercourse happing for months before the dad got upset at the 20yo) - the 20yo is now 23 and married to the then girlfriend and has to register as a sex offender. All because of Yamhill County Prosecutors and a pissed off dad.
Sally From Yamhill Count October 14, 2012 8:10 pm (Pacific time)
Yamhill County likes to prosecute, prosecute, and prosecute - regardless of the situation. Several years ago they prosecuted a 20yo for "rape" because his girlfriend was under 17 - the 20yo and the girl’s father got into an argument and the dad called and reported that his daughter was having sex with a 20yo - Yamhill County prosecuted (even though the parents knew that there was sexual intercourse happing for months before the dad got upset at the 20yo) - the 20yo is now 23 and married to the then girlfriend and has to register as a sex offender. All because of Yamhill County Prosecutors and a pissed off dad.
Ralph E. Stone October 12, 2012 9:04 pm (Pacific time)
This was statutory rape, engaging in sex with - in this case -- women under the age of consent. In non-statutory cases, rape is often hard to prove. In statutory rape cases all you need to prove is that sex took place and the girl was under the age of consent. The law assumes a person under a certain age needs special protection. It also protects them from people with more power. Lister, for example, was running an illegal tattoo business.and taking advantage of these underage girls. Look at the situation from the girls' point of view.
Tim King: I agree with you Ralph, only Oregon deleted 'statutory' from the legal lingo and determines therefore that no person under 18 has the ability to legally consent and therefore it is rape no matter what, the degree depends only on age. I just prefer California's use of the word statutory. My beef with this issue goes back many years to the case in Salem of a teacher named Joe Billera, who had been engaging in sex with his middle school female students for years, while being named 'Teacher of the Year'. When it all came down, he was charged with numerous counts and all of the girls were willing participants in the acts, except one. The youngest of his victims was actually raped, a little girl... he forcibly raped her against her will! This all was lost in the trial I felt, because after the jury hears rape over and over and have former willing victims testify who were not forced, the magnitude of the act against the youngest girl is lost. Thanks so much for your comment Ralph.
October 12, 2012 2:17 pm (Pacific time)
So Tim, why not just dissolve the Oregon government and take over as Philosopher King?
Tim King: I just think the use of these words are disrespectful to people who have been raped. I think it gives heavy verbal weight to charges faced by people innocent until proven guilty. The law needs to not crucify people who make stupid and regrettable mistakes.
Daniel Johnson October 12, 2012 3:28 pm (Pacific time)
Perhaps someone can explain to me the difference between "rape" here in Canada and the situation in Oregon. Here there is allowance for close age differences, i.e., an 18 year old male, who is classed as an adult, is not liable for sexual charges if the girl is, say, 16 or17. There is an allowance of something like three or four years between teenage partners. Of course, mutual consent is a given.
Anonymous October 12, 2012 3:00 pm (Pacific time)
Tim..I am with ya 100% but what I cant figure is why sex is rampid in high skools, oral sex in bathrooms, I could go on and on, why is this guy getting beat up so bad? I am gonna make a guess...The girls, who chat on phone and internet, talked about it and a parent overheard/found out. The parent went bolistic, (cause their daughter was an innocent angel lol), and thats when police take more notice..I think its when parents make a big stink..I am not promoting anything here, or even giving judgement of any kind, just stating what I think is a fact. I promote sustaining, but my promotion hasnt gone far especially these days. But you are correct Tim, this is an atrocity and hypocricy...Too bad this guy wasnt a priest, they would have simply moved him to another town and bought him a tatoo shop to boot. Last stats I heard are that there is more rape in the CPS than anywhere.
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