Man gets 9 years for killing childhood rapist

[alp227]

Source: San Francisco Chronicle

(06-15) 15:34 PDT UKIAH, MENDOCINO COUNTY -- All the years that Aaron Vargas was sexually abused as a boy, and the fact that his hometown of Fort Bragg rallied to his defense after he killed his molester, ultimately had little bearing on the sentence a judge handed down to him Tuesday.

The arguments for leniency struck up against one harsh fact, Judge Ronald Brown said. When Vargas, 32, placed his replica of an antique cap-and-ball pistol against the chest of his childhood rapist, Darrell McNeill, in February 2009 and pulled the trigger, he intended to kill him, the judge concluded - and he wanted the 63-year-old man to die slow and hard.

And with that, Brown sentenced Vargas to nine years in state prison.

More than 60 relatives and friends of Vargas sat wordless in Mendocino County Superior Court, shock on their faces, as the words left Brown's mouth. Some cried quietly.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/06/15/BARI1DVI41.DTL

[Pavulon]

1. Should have gotten drunk and hit him with his car

you dont get shit for that.

[MadMaddie]

13. Sadly true!

[Name removed]

15. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[MadMaddie]

17. Well here in Washington two weeks ago

a Canadian who had two prior serious DUI arrests, killed two students. He got out on bail each time, the 3rd time hekilled two graduating teens. Half a bottle of vodka was in his truck and they also found the receipt dated 2-4 hrs prior to the accident.



http://www.q13fox.com/news/kcpq-061010-carcrash,0,6644091.story

When the Drunk drivers do kill someone yes they will get time. But when it's a DUI and they get arrested their license should be revoked. That's it. They don't get another chance to kill some one.

[depakid]

20. And watch that guy go away for 20 years

btw: the receipt was dated 6 hours prior, according to the Oregonian. Not that it really matters.

Every case is different. In one sentencing in Portland last summer a guy got a year in county jail and license revocation for a low BAC case where another very drunk man stepped right out in front of his car. Nothing anyone could have done.

So don't try to tell me that DUI laws in the states aren't retributive and harsh.

[Pavulon]

37. In NC the former Attorney General stated

if you want to get away with murder choose the right weapon. use your car. Vehicular manslaughter is generally what you are charged with and if your are white and have a lawyer you are not serving more than a year.

[NoGOPZone]

51. If you're Bill Janklow, you can even skip the drunk part. nt

[DumpDavisHogg]

2. Another judge for the impeachment block

The rapist served no time, but his victim serves 9 years. Plus a lifetime of PTSD.

[Lance_Boyle]

27. Had the victim reported the crime instead of going vigilante, it would be different.

But he decided to take the law into his own hands. Hope the 9 years in the pokey gives the vigilante some impulse control.

[superconnected]

29. Do you have any idea what rape and child abuse victims have to go through when they report someone?

they are suddenly surrounded by people in denial that defend the perp no matter what.

It always amazes me when people not there for the event can so ruthlessly defend someone because it's their "friend" or "family member".

My nephew is a child molester - he's molested 3 kids that we know of. After work yesterday I came home to a two year old in the house being babysat by my nephews brother and his girlfriend with my nephew in the house. That violated his parole to be around children. I brought it up and got a whole family screaming at me that Jacob isn't really a child molester and that was just a phase he went through and the kid asked him to touch him (a lie his parents told me and they acknowledged only this kid when Jacob also molested two other children in my family - his cousins - that his parents deny happened)- even though he has a conviction and 3 on going protection orders from the 3 children). And, he's on the sex offender registry and his parole requirement says he can't be around any children no matter what. Seriously, I got a family screaming at me for even bringing it up. I called the police and they quickly got Jacob out of there - drove him somewhere and came back, and wouldn't tell the cop who showed up, where he was.

Unfortunately I've seen it before when friends claimed they got molested in highschool - their families and aquaintances usually turned on them and made out like they were crazy or seeking attention. Typcial.

[mbperrin]

31. This is precisely what happens. I teach, and several years back,

a student finally reported 10 years of sexual abuse at the hands of her father, even resulting in one aborted pregnancy.

Her mother kicked her out of the house; the rest of her family shunned her; her car was burned at school; she was beaten by an unknown assailant until unconscious, and a lot more. Four years later, when she turned 21, a court finally found him guilty and assigned him to 60 days of counseling and registration as a sex offender. That was it.

No member of her family will speak to her even now, all claiming that either she initiated it, or it never happened at all.

I personally do support a limited and carefully administered death penalty, and this is one category that warrants it. These victims are victims all their life.

[truedelphi]

35. Oh mi gawd, that is hideous.

[harry_pothead]

39. This family argument would never had happened if Jacob's penalty had been this:

[superconnected]

48. Or even life in prison. He should never be out though becuase he

will molest any child he gets his hands on. His parole officer even acknowledged that. However, he's out walking around. I've suspected for years he'll eventually kill a child so he can molest it and the kid can't talk. I've always known that would eventually happen. Jacob cries and throws fits everytime he has to go to jail. He really doesn't want to go and he really likes children - in a molesting way.

[harry_pothead]

59. I don't count "really likes children in a molesting way" as actually liking children.

I'm a teacher, and we like children in the genuine way. (Well most of us)

[MattBaggins]

45. This Judge should not be on any "impeacment block".

It is not the Judges fault that the individual never reported the crime. It is not the Judges fault that there was no established support system for the victim of the abuse to go to for help years ago.

The victim got his revenge but it was still murder and now he will serve his time.

[mrbarber]

3. Fuck you Brown.

You piece of child rapist supporting shit.

[Hugabear]

19. So you support vigilantism?

You're attacking a judge for doing his job, his sworn duty to uphold the law? Should we all just take the law in our own hands? At what point do we tell the legal process to "fuck off" and take matters into our own hands?

[sam kane]

34. only against child rapists. nt.

[MattBaggins]

46. Awesome so we can all just go around and accuse people we dislike

of child rape and let the "posse" take care of them for us?

[harry_pothead]

40. People wouldn't need to be vigilantes if the justice system actually did its job properly.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

4. Anyone who reads the article will see the killer was still having sex with the dead guy until 4...

.... years prior to the shooting. That would make him 28ish.

but the fact that Vargas continued having sex with McNeill until breaking it off about four years ago eventually made theirs a consensual adult relationship.

That made the killing a version of a lover's spat, the investigators said.

And for THIS I say let him rot:

As McNeill died, Vargas stood by and told the victim's wife, Liz McNeill - who witnessed the shooting from her couch - about the molestations, prosecutors said. Vargas wouldn't let her call police until McNeill was dead.

[Pavulon]

6. The part about raping him when he was a kid

makes killing him a ok with me. His method made his sentence what it was. If he "snapped" and stabbed him 87 times he would be out by thanksgiving.

[No Elephants]

26. Being raped messes a child's mind, especially vis a vis sex.

Former Miss America, Marilyn Van Derbur (sp?) was raped by her father as a child and continued having sex with him nightly until she was about 22.

[WestSeattle2]

5. Should have used a Baretta. My heart goes out to the guy - living

with that childhood trauma all these years, and now being victimized again. Amazing story. Most pedophiles like to believe that no harm comes to their victims. Bullshit. If the dudes can't keep their hands off kids, they should do the world a huge favor and leave this world by their own hand - BEFORE they damage a human for life.

[Lance_Boyle]

28. Living with the trauma? He was still fucking the guy 4 years ago.

It was child rape up front, but not 4 years ago. The murderer got 9 years of what he deserved. The dead rapist never got a trial.

[WestSeattle2]

43. The pedo destroyed that guy years ago when he raped him;

the victim is so screwed up he'll never be mentally healthy. The fact that the rape victim was having sex with the perp who destroyed his life, does not surprise me in the least. The rape victim's idea of human sexuality was warped the first time he was victimized. I believe he's been fighting an unbelievable inner battle all these years, and thought the only way to make it stop was to kill the guy who started the whole damn thing. The rape victim is a mental train wreck no doubt about it; but prison isn't the answer.

[iamjoy]

7. You're Gonna Think I'm Crazy

I feel sorry for Mrs. McNeill. I can hardly imagine, it has to be bad enough finding out that your husband unfaithful to you, but also that he committed these monstrous acts. Then, before you can even come to terms with it, you are watching him die in front of you and not knowing if the killer is going to turn the gun on you. Of course, maybe I'm strange that way, sometimes when I hear about a horrible crime, I tend to feel sorry for the perpetrator's family. It happened when that guy killed the girls in the Amish school and when the man drove the plane into the IRS building. Mind you, my sympathy does not extend to the perpetrators themselves, just their families.

Of course, I am assuming Mrs. McNeill was unaware of her husband's activities.

btw - Aaron Vargas looks a little like Keanu Reeves.

[MadMelanie]

18. No need to feel sorry for Mrs. McNeill

No need to feel sorry for Mrs. McNeill:

“After he shot Darrell, he told him something to the effect of, ‘You’re not going to hurt anyone again,’ and then he told me all about how Darrell abused him as a child,” McNeill told The San Francisco Chronicle. “I was shocked at all of this. He told me he wasn’t going to hurt me, but I was never scared. I knew he wouldn’t.”

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/36257199/ns/today-today_people/

[iamjoy]

22. OK, But Still

Imagine finding out you're married to a monster.

[Iggo]

8. 9 years for straight up murder?

He got off easy.

[Xithras]

9. Yep. He should have got more time.

I was molested as a kid. It sucks. It's hard to get over. I get it.

But there is NO place in a just society for cold blooded vigilante murderers. If the guy wanted justice, he should have called the police. With four corroborating witnesses, the guy would have spent the rest of his life in prison.

[teknomanzer]

10. Too much bullshit on this thread...

I have suffered abuse as a child and so have many others. That does not give me or others the right to take a life. What you people are expressing is a call for vengeance not justice and that is hardly sympathetic. Those of you who see this act as being justified should be ashamed. Further, you certainly have no business calling yourselves liberal or progressive.

[customerserviceguy]

11. When it comes to child rape

I'm afraid that I side with the reich wing on this. I'm an atheist, but the most vengeful version of a deity ever dreamed up on this planet couldn't make a hell hot enough for a child rapist/molester.

If that makes me less than progressive in your eyes, so be it.

I hope that Gov. Schwartzenegger pardons this guy on his way out of office in January.

[teknomanzer]

21. So, were you raped as a child?

Serious question here - because if you weren't you basically need to put a sock in it.

[Courtesy Flush]

47. You don't have to be a victim to voice an opinion

I am a CPS worker. People report concerns about children to me. My response is never "shut you pie hole if you're not also a victim."

[teknomanzer]

56. Do opinions matter or not?

No, you don't have to be a victim to have and opinion. In fact everyone has an opinion on something. The question is who's opinion would you believe has more validity. For example if you wanted to know if a certain flavor of ice cream was any good who's opinion would you consider more valid? Someone who had actually tried the ice cream or someone who had never eaten ice cream before in their life?

People reporting their concerns about a child's well being is not the same as having an opinion about whether it is justified to murder someone who has raped you.

Those who believe such action is justified should go live among the tribal peoples of Saudi Arabia where revenge killing and honor killing is common. We are trying to have a modern civilized society here and revenge has no place in it.

[proteus_lives]

24. Agreed.

"If that makes me less than progressive in your eyes, so be it."

Right there with you.

[Incitatus]

33. +1

[MattBaggins]

49. That's why we have a Justice System

and not a Revenge System.

Your hatred of one particular subset of deviants is duly noted but absolutely irrelevant.

[Bill McBlueState]

52. I'm not sure which position is right-wing and which is progressive here.

"If you do the crime, you do the time" is usually a right-wing slogan, but I think murderers should go to prison, and I'm pretty progressive.

[unlegendary]

12. This is where society is headed.

If you make the claim someone touched you improperly as a kid you'll be allowed to murder anyone as an adult.
Is that nice?

Hey, I was touched improperly and my dad pulled down my pants and spanked me when I ripped a hole in his brand new recliner with a pencil. Does this mean I should have the right to murder him too? I certainly hope not.
This goes well past vigilante mob mentality and into insanity. This is why we have a court system, to lock up cold blooded killers, something this guy certainly was.

[Duppers]

44. there are differences in abuse

and even rape due to age and circumstances.

Been there too, and every day I wished the person dead....until they were. No, of course, I took no action other than getting myself into therapy, but I was happy to learn of their death. And, eventually, as the some of the anger left me, I came to see that person as being very sick.

[teknomanzer]

57. I used a general term... abuse. I did not want to get into specifics...

I understand the full spectrum of emotions around that kind of trauma. The important thing for me was to not allow my hatred to make me more montrous than the perpetrator. And that is my whole point. Are we going to allow a person's transgressions to turn us into beasts?

I think the realization that indeed that person was sick - not well at all - has helped a great deal. In any case I know I'm well, and I hope you are too.

[MadMaddie]

14. If there was one child raped then there usually are many more

that have been unreported.

These molestors never stop with one child, it's about power.

[pitohui]

16. it sounds like it had a lot of bearing, and got him some mercy

9 years for a boldly coldly planned murder? i'd get about 90, as a white woman who was raped/abused -- of course we gals are supposed to just sit back and take it i guess

[proteus_lives]

23. Should have been community service and a handshake.

[MattBaggins]

50. I really hate my neighbor

Hey you know I heard he molests kids, want to go kill him for me?

[struggle4progress]

25. ... On the night of the shooting, Vargas' blood-alcohol content was about .15 ... Vargas testified

his memory of the night was faulty. He said he recalled McNeill denying the accusations before Vargas yelled back that McNeill wasn't going to hurt anyone anymore. Then the gun went off, Vargas said ...

Calif man who killed alleged molester is sentenced
By JULIANA BARBASSA (AP) – 6 hours ago
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5j1rqh2fDBwF7mRDrJ4PAAQT_3iwwD9GC17P80

[superconnected]

30. irregardless, he'll be out in 3.

[24601]

32. The sentence is 8 years and 364 days too long. n/t

[Chulanowa]

36. Two things

One, I cannot fault him for doing this. Really, I can't, that sort of trauma messes you up, and the anger is always there. I can safely say that I would have done the same in his situation.

That said, vigilantism is a no-no. Murder is a no-no. And that's exactly what this was on both counts.

The old kiddie-diddler deserved what he got, and Vargas deserves the sentence he got. Two wrongs don't make a right.

[Xipe Totec]

38. Had I been him, I would gladly serve my sentence

for the chance to take that asshole to his grave.

[harry_pothead]

41. And he'll be a hero in jail.

And who knows, maybe he'll be able to take a lead pipe to a few child molesters while he's in prison. Fun activities to pass the time.

[Xipe Totec]

42. Why not indeed... nt

[saigon68]

53. Too Bad about the Felony other wise he could

Go to Iraq and bust a few Rag Heads

[Lost4words]

55. you dont know about prisons do you,

its not so bad if you are the biggest and or meanist, everybody else gets a daddy.

[Lost4words]

54. Thanks Judge, now he can get raped in prison! WTF

now thats justice.

[Love Bug]

58. I'm surprised these kind of revenge killings don't happen more often

They wouldn't happen at all if the victims felt they would get a fair hearing in court. What Vargas did was not right but I wonder if he thinks the nine year sentence is worth it? Maybe he does.