God and wife should determine the punishment for husband's sex crime

Dear Editor,

I read with interest [Aug. 15] how the life and reputation of a local family man was destroyed over his intent to involve himself with a female police officer pretending to be a prostitute.

While I am not endorsing prostitution, and putting aside the very legitimate question of entrapment, I have long-held great reservations when the authorities attempt to inject themselves into matters where clearly there is no victim. Additionally, it is a well-documented fact, which surprises few these days, when members of police agencies themselves are also hypocritically caught committing this very same offense.

Firstly, I would submit that in a democracy the state has no legitimate business interfering in or attempting to regulate the sexual or other private activities of fully grown, consenting adult citizens who are harming no one. Furthermore, in a real democracy (as opposed to the lip service variety we are fast becoming), the punishment for any offense should match the magnitude of the crime.

News reports pointed out how this man, a long-standing member of his church and this community, has as a result of this police instigated situation lost his wife, his job, his career, his reputation and now faces mention on the sex offender registry and a draconian "two years in jail" and $5,000 in fines. Good grief, shouldn't we allow our police department, which is so short-staffed they are currently advertising for 40 additional officers, to concentrate on catching murderers, armed robbers, burglars, crack dealers and child molesters on crime infested Jefferson Davis Highway?

Sorry, but in most civilized, educated countries, the supposed "crime" of sex for money is a petty misdemeanor and in some places like Las Vegas, parts of Australia, and the Netherlands, it is decriminalized or not an offense at all.

Bottom line: what the guy did was morally wrong, but it is no reason to ruin his entire life. The punishment is way out of step with the offense, and in this citizen's humble opinion, punishment for this supposed "crime" would best be metered out by his wife and God.

James P. Hilton

Petersburg