CHILD MOLESTER RECEIVES 80-YEAR PRISON SENTENCE.Byline: Holly Edwards Staff Writer SAN FERNANDO San Fernando, city, Argentina San Fernando (săn fərnăn`dō), city (1991 pop. 144,761), Buenos Aires prov., E Argentina. It is a district administrative center in the Greater Buenos Aires area. - Calling convicted child molester Noun 1. child molester - a man who has sex (usually sodomy) with a boy as the passive partner paederast, pederast degenerate, deviant, deviate, pervert - a person whose behavior deviates from what is acceptable especially in sexual behavior Daniel Larson a predator who corrupted the lives of his young victims, a judge on Tuesday sentenced the Castaic man to the maximum sentence of 80 years in prison. Larson, 51, pleaded guilty in January to 10 counts of committing lewd acts upon a child and will be required to serve 85 percent of the sentence because each count is considered a violent felony, officials said. Before handing down the sentence, North Valley Superior Court Judge Ronald S. Coen viewed portions of a videotape Larson made of himself molesting three young girls, ages 5 to 7, in his Castaic home and Canyon Country apartment. Coen called the tape the most shocking Most Shocking is a reality television show produced by Nash Entertainment and Court TV Original Productions. It generally features a video of criminal behavior, police pursuits, robberies, and shootouts. piece of evidence he has seen in his 28-year career, and said he has never seen acts that were ``more premeditated pre·med·i·tat·ed adj. Characterized by deliberate purpose, previous consideration, and some degree of planning: a premeditated crime. or more planned out. ``These children have been robbed of their innocence for all time,'' Coen told Larson. ``I feel compassion for you but no sympathy.'' Prior to his sentencing, a tearful Larson told the judge that he was sorry for the crimes he had committed, and apologized to his victims, his family and the community. ``If you could see inside my heart, you'd see sorrow,'' Larson said, choking back tears. ``If you could see inside my soul, you'd see remorse.'' After the sentencing hearing, Larson's attorney, Daniel Davis, filed motions seeking to overturn Larson's plea agreement and challenging the legal basis for sentencing Larson to consecutive, rather than concurrent, terms for the crimes. ``Sentencing him to anything beyond his normal life expectancy Life Expectancy 1. The age until which a person is expected to live. 2. The remaining number of years an individual is expected to live, based on IRS issued life expectancy tables. is cruel and unusual punishment Such punishment as would amount to torture or barbarity, any cruel and degrading punishment not known to the Common Law, or any fine, penalty, confinement, or treatment that is so disproportionate to the offense as to shock the moral sense of the community. ,'' said Davis, who urged the judge to impose the low term of 35 years in prison. ``The criminal justice system can and should give him some hope beyond death in prison.'' But Deputy District Attorney Joe Weimortz said he believed Larson would always pose a threat to children. ``The videotape is a primer for a predatory sex offender sex offender n. generic term for all persons convicted of crimes involving sex, including rape, molestation, sexual harassment and pornography production or distribution. and was used as a sort of 'best of' compilation for his sexual gratification,'' Weimortz said. ``Every time he played that tape, he exploited those children again.'' |
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