This is a news story from The National Post newspaper in Canada.

P.E.I. ball player sentenced to jail for sexual contact with underage girls

ALISON AULD
Canadian Press


Monday, December 22, 2003

CHARLOTTETOWN (CP) - A young baseball hopeful who dreamed of playing in the big leagues was sentenced Monday to 45 days in jail for sexual offences involving 12- and 13-year-old schoolgirls in Prince Edward Island.

Cass Rhynes, 19, listened impassively in a small provincial court room as Judge Nancy Orr read a 90-minute sentence report outlining the cases of adolescent sexual activity that stunned people throughout the Island.

In the end, she said anything but a custodial sentence would not be enough to convey the distress Rhynes caused the girls and their community.

"As 12-and 13-year olds, these girls should not have had to endure these difficulties," Orr said as Rhynes stood before her in a dark black suit and gold tie.

"A sentence should denounce this conduct."

Rhynes appeared unmoved by the decision and merely rolled his eyes when the judge ruled out handing him a conditional sentence because she feared he might reoffend.

Orr also sentenced Rhynes to one year's probation and 100 hours of community service.

He is also forbidden from being alone with girls under the age of 14 and has to write letters of apology to the victims in the case.

Rhynes, a catcher drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers earlier this year, admitted during his trial that he received oral sex from two girls who he believed were over 14 years of age, the age of consent in Canada.

In fact, the girls were 12- and 13-year-old junior high students.

Rhynes, of Cornwall, P.E.I., was convicted in October on two counts of inciting girls under the age of 14 to touch him for sexual purposes.

Now that he has a criminal record, Rhynes will be barred from entry to the United States, regardless of whether he manages to revive his chance of a career in pro ball.

A relative of one of the girls said Monday she was satisfied with the sentence, but dismayed that Rhynes, who was 18 at the time of the incidents, didn't show remorse or indicate he understood he was part of a disturbing wider trend among teens.

"They're targeting the 12-year-old girls because these girls do not have the wherewithal to make the good decisions," the woman, who can't be identified, said outside the court house.

"We find that very disturbing that he has shown no remorse. We hope that maybe when he's sitting in jail for 45 days he'll have some time to think about that."

But John Mitchell, who represented Rhynes, said he took exception with the idea that his client was unrepentant. Mitchell argued that the hulking 215-pound catcher believed what he did was morally, not criminally wrong.

"His view is he made a moral mistake - he thought they were of legal age and therefore there was nothing criminal about it," he said.

At the time, Rhynes was a popular young athlete who made much of the fact that he was a 2003 draft pick and held a scholarship to a Florida college with a top-ranked baseball training program.

Rhynes was drafted in the 45th round of the annual draft. There are 50 rounds in the draft.

Orr said one of the girls doesn't believe Rhynes should have been charged and takes full responsibility for what happened. The other, however, said in a victim impact statement that she now realizes she "was taken advantage of."

"I feel people look at me differently. I'm not sweet, innocent anymore."

Testimony showed that the girls would arrange meetings, or 'hook up,' through Internet chat rooms and that people would meet at parties, friends' houses and in church parking lots.

The girls consented to the activity and Rhynes claims he was told by friends that they were over 14.

A longtime friend of Rhynes' said the sentence was far too severe and that he should never have been charged. His career has already suffered, he said, since he lost the scholarship to the Florida college.

"He made a mistake," said Brian Lewis, who used to train Rhynes. "He's a great kid. He's sorry, but he knows he didn't commit a crime."

The sordid tale has divided the area, with some blaming the girls and others seeing Rhynes as a predator of young, vulnerable youth trying to gain acceptance by way of an elite athlete.

One girl has endured rebukes at school and in the community for bringing the case to light and exposing disturbing revelations of routine sex acts by girls on the verge of adolescence.

"I'm angry that there's been so much community outlash toward the victims instead of the perpetrators," said the girl's aunt.

Mitchell said he would consider appealing the sentence and has already appealed the conviction. He was trying to have Rhynes released for Christmas.

© Copyright 2003 The Canadian Press


Now, here's what I think:

You write a story about grown men kidnapping and raping a young girl, okay.
But what if that young girl is your sister?
Or your daughter?