I read the article titled “Former Canterbury chief LaRoche found not guilty of sex assault” (Monitor front page, June 29) and found many things wrong with this verdict.
If instead of “police officer” it read “high school teacher,” would the outcome have been even close to the same?
The high school teacher saying “We had consensual contact on at least two occasions, and maybe two more times in the locker room” would have convicted the teacher. But LaRoche – “who was arrested in August, admitted to two of the encounters and said the other two, inside the old headquarters, might have occurred; but he says they were entirely consensual” – can admit guilt, and be found not guilty of an offense that the average person would lose their job, accreditation and freedom for.
Even after the officer confesses, the assaulted is accused of merely looking for a payday and is further accused of being manipulated by a sexual assault therapist to use specific keywords.
Obviously, the fear of not being believed, on the part of the accuser, was absolutely confirmed.
I came across a great quote that seems to apply to this and other egregious crimes that have been disregarded recently: “When you’re accustomed to privilege, equity feels like oppression”
ROBERT REINHARD
Concord