Father kills man sexually abusing his daughter, no arrest... yet

[biosurfer1]

I would think that in most states, the father would have been arrested on the spot. To me, it sounds like the sheriff was holding back his true feelings of wanting to give the father a medal. I doubt any father would have acted differently, in fact most wouldn't have been as restrained.

Sheriff: Father kills man sexually abusing his daughter - CNN.com

"A Texas father caught a man sexually assaulting his 4-year-old daughter and punched him in the head repeatedly, killing him, authorities said.

The father was casually acquainted with the alleged abuser, said Lavaca County Sheriff Micah Harmon.

Neither has been publicly identified.

The girl was left inside the family's house during the social gathering, while other members of her family were tending to horses, the sheriff said.

The alleged abuser was known for his horse-grooming abilities, Harmon said.

The father returned to the house, caught the man in the act, and stopped him by striking him in the head several times, Harmon said.

The man was pronounced dead on the scene, while the daughter was taken to a local hospital in Victoria, Texas, for examinations before being released.

The incident took place Saturday.

Harmon described the girl as "OK besides the obvious mental trauma."

Asked whether they would press charges against the father, the sheriff responded, "You have a right to defend your daughter. He acted in defense of his third person. Once the investigation is completed we will submit it to the district attorney who then submits it to the grand jury, who will decide if they will indict him."

Harmon described the dad as "very remorseful," adding that he didn't know the man was going to die.

Authorities were withholding the deceased man's name while they notified next of kin. Officials did not know immediately if he has a prior criminal history."

[Rikao4]

4 yr old..
WTF..
down here they refer to this as..
'he needed killin'..
if the Hospital confirms..
no jury in TX will convict him..

Rika

[McLovin]

No charges will be filed in this one.

(Unless the dead guy is black and the father is white).

[skunked]

I wonder how many times he hit him....

Having a 5 year old daughter myself I understand the reaction he had.

[crustychief]

Originally Posted by skunked

I wonder how many times he hit him....

Having a 5 year old daughter myself I understand the reaction he had.

Yes, me too.

[algs911]

No conviction IMHO. Not an over-reaction either. Having children I can easily see myself doing exactly that if I had caught someone doing that to my child.

Wow!

[Jim Bremner]

Good Kill.

[McLovin]

Originally Posted by skunked

I wonder how many times he hit him....
.

I don't think it will matter. This seems like a textbook "heat of passion" or provocation defense.

[cashflyer]

The scumbag is lucky he did not get a chainsaw enema.



South Carolina also has a 'defense of a third person' law.

But this is no mere "third person". This is a 4 yo child. A father has a duty to protect his children; even more so those who cannot yet protect themselves.

The father was just in his actions. Period.

[skunked]

Originally Posted by McLovin

I don't think it will matter. This seems like a textbook "heat of passion" or provocation defense.

I agree with you, just wondering what it took......

[Head416]

This is justified and right, no matter what the law or courts decide.

[Moses]

Why would the law ever require a rational response to an irrational provocation?

The molester lit the fuse. I don't care how harsh the fathers response is. It's fine with me.

[BlueSkyJaunte]

The only downside to the father's response is that the molester died too quickly and was probably unconscious when he did.

On the other hand, a kneecapped and castrated dead guy would've probably hurt the father's chances in the courtroom.

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by Moses

I don't care how harsh the fathers response is. It's fine with me.

If this guy is prosecuted, if the DA or Solicitor finds it in their heart to handicap this man's immediate response to horror, I will be stunned.

My Sister was a Solicitor in South Carolina for over twenty years...my guess is she would have saluted the Father, shed not a tear for the dead, found a way to help the young daughter as appropriate and warranted.

[Mark Henry]

Originally Posted by skunked

I agree with you, just wondering what it took......

A strong guy and an adrenalin fuelled rage, one shot.

At worse it will be manslaughter. In this case I'd have no problem doing a couple of years, my wife would bring me smokes to give to the other inmates. Not that you would need them, even in prison you would have respect.

[Baz]

Just read the linked story - I feel the same way you guys do - someone molesting one of my girls - they're going to meet their maker or come pretty close...

BTW...currently here's the top 2 comments from the "comments section":

Look, defending your child doesn't mean overreacting. It means keeping a cool head. That's the example you want to set for your child from a young age.

I can see knocking this guy to the ground, but not beating him to a pulp or to death. If the intruder put up a fight, then that's a different story, but so far that hasn't been reported.

Just keep your senses and restrain this guy, get your spouse to call the police and hold him down until they get there.

I'm about as liberal as you'll find, and I would beat someone to death if they assaulted my daughters, too. Top marks to dad.

[masraum]

I saw another article that read a bit differently. According to the other article the father heard his daughter screaming from behind the barn and team back to catch the guy in whatever act he was doing.

[Neilk]

Father deserve a medal for defending his daughter and saving the county the unnecessary expense of a trial.

I just hope the father was able to pummel the guy outside his daughter's view. She doesn't need the trauma of seeing someone beaten to death in front of her, regardless of what he was doing.

[Brando]

Originally Posted by cashflyer

[...] But this is no mere "third person". This is a 4 yo child. A father has a duty to protect his children; even more so those who cannot yet protect themselves.

The father was just in his actions. Period.

This sums it up entirely. The other side of the coin is the father will have to live with knowing he brutally killed someone. Justified, yes, but it has a cost.

I don't believe his reaction was excessive. And I'm glad the daughter is OK.

[Superman]

This father was insane at the time. Virtually any father would be. I would be. Justifiably.