A RIDE AT NIGHT IN THE COUNTRY
Claudia Laycock.
Remember that name. Granted, for obvious and juvenile reasons, it’s hard to forget.
But remember it.
And vote against it. Become angry at it. Bristle at what it stands for.
And Jace Blickenstaff will show us what it stands for. Jace Blickenstaff will teach us all we need to know about Claudia Laycock.
Jace Blickenstaff was in the passenger’s seat, in the front.
When the four men picked up the two teen-aged girls, Jace Blickenstaff was in the passenger’s seat, in the front. Jared Holland was driving, and in the back were Kyle Anderson and Shawn Havili. Jace Blickenstaff was 20, Jared Holland and Shawn Havili were 19, and Kyle Anderson was 18.
One of the girls knew one of the guys and last Oct. 7 in the dark of the night the girls accepted the offer of a ride.
The 17-year-old sat between Jace Blickenstaff and Jared Holland; the 18-year-old sat between Kyle Anderson and Shawn Havili.
And off they went.
This was in Utah County, and there are mountains there. Mountains and back roads and plenty of deserted, lonely places. Of course, there are also several beautiful small cities, a string of good places to raise a family, the north end of the valley dominated at night by the brilliantly illuminated Mormon temple.
And off they went.
Then, the police say, Jace Blickenstaff attacked the girl wedged between him and Jared Holland. In the back, Kyle Anderson and Shawn Havili allegedly did the same to the girl between them.
The police say Jace Blickenstaff pulled off the 17-year-old’s shirt and bra, and then fought her out of her pants.
Both girls fought and screamed and begged.
Unable to get her clothes off, the men in the back allegedly grabbed the breasts of the 18-year-old as she fought them. The men in the front reached back and did the same.
The police say Jace Blickenstaff and Jared Holland likewise misused the girl in the front seat, as she struggled to escape.
Punching and kicking, the 18-year-old girl in the backseat was able to get a door open and escape. She ran away to get help. Through unknown circumstance, the 17-year-old girl also got out of the vehicle, but was then on the side of the road, in the middle of nowhere, in her panties, and the temperature was in the mid-30s.
She begged the men in the truck for her clothes. Jace Blickenstaff had stuffed them under the front seat. They refused to return them unless she promised to get back in the truck. She did and they drove her to a junior high school parking lot, where they dropped her off.
All four men were charged with two counts of first-degree felony forcible sexual abuse.
But, like I said, this was in Utah County. And Utah County is a good place to commit a crime. The odds of getting a sweetheart deal are high, as Jace Blickenstaff can tell you.
Because he pled to a third-degree felony count of dealing in harmful material to a minor.
Must be littering or jaywalking weren’t available.
Must be Jace Blickenstaff was pretty humbled and penitent by his contact with the law. Right around the time he pled guilty, he posted some interesting “modeling” pictures on his Facebook account.
And this last week it came time for sentencing.
Though Utah treats a third-degree felony like a first-degree slap on the wrist, as many as five years in the state penitentiary were on the table. There was a chance that Jace Blickenstaff’s little October romp was going to earn him some hard time.
But not really.
Because, remember, this isn’t about Jace Blickenstaff.
This is about Claudia Laycock.
She’s a judge. Sort of.
And she, in all her wisdom, with the power vested in her by the state of Utah, opted for probation.
Two years probation.
Which tells me she doesn’t have daughters. Or any common sense.
Or any business being on the bench.
Because what the police say happened in that truck that night deserves a lot more than probation. And almost everybody walking down the street understands that.
Almost everybody, except Claudia Laycock.
Crimes will be committed. Bad things will be done. That’s why we have built a criminal justice system to protect us. We have police, prosecutors, judges and prisons. All are protections for society. They arrest, prosecute, sentence and contain predators.
And the system works.
Unless there is a weak link.
Like Claudia Laycock.
What she exercised is not “judgment,” it is stupidity. She did not assert the law, she mocked it. She did not represent the people, she disappointed them.
So remember her name.
And vote against it.
- by Bob Lonsberry © 2010
