, Malcolm Watson, former Assistant Head of School at Buffalo Seminary began his three year exile in Canada after .
It is an unusual punishment without precedence. I feared that this punishment negotiated by Erie County District Attorney Frank Clark and Cheektowaga Justice Thomas S.
Kolbert would result in an international incident.
What if Malcolm takes a liking to another 15 year old girl while he’s exiled on Bloor Street. Will he be punished in Canada?
Will he be deported back to the US? If he is deported, what recourse do the courts have as Watson’s citizenship status is currently in limbo at the whim of Frank Clark? I’m willing to bet that if Watson decides to lust after another Lolita, we’ll have a tidy little international incident on our hands…
Well guess what, .
Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty lashed out at a U.S. judge for using Canada as a “dumping ground” for those convicted of sexual offences.
Mr. McGuinty told reporters Tuesday that it is up to the federal government to attempt to overturn an unusual punishment that will allow a teacher convicted of sexually abusing a 15-year-old student to serve his sentence in Canada.
Under a plea bargain approved yesterday by a New York state court, Malcolm Watson will spend the next three years on probation in Canada and enter the United States only to report to his probation officer.
Mr. Watson, 35, has a wife and three children in Fort Erie, Ont. He is a U.
S. citizen.
“This is obviously not the kind of precedent that we want to allow the Americans to establish,” Mr.
McGuinty said. “It s not the kind of thing we re prepared to accept.”
“We will work with the federal government and we hope we are of one mind in this regard to ensure that we don t become some kind of a dumping ground for convicted offenders south of the border,” he said.
Of course, the principals in the case were pretty sure that the
Watson s attorney Oscar Smukler said great thought was given before agreeing to the terms.
We did some research on the question of whether Canada might consider throwing [Watson] out, which would make him a man without a country, Smukler said.
Smukler concluded that a key was Watson pleading to a Level One misdemeanor - the least serious sex offense.
Well, I guess they .
Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty wants Ottawa to fight a decision by a U.S.
judge to sentence a convicted sex offender to probation in Canada.
Mr. McGuinty calls it a bad precedent and wants Mr.
Watson, 35, to serve his time in the U.S.
New Democrat Michael Prue, a former immigration officer, calls Mr.
Watson s sentence bizarre, and says it goes contrary to international law.
Above all else, how is any of this a punishment? Watson will be a free man in Canada; working as a salesman in St.
Catherines, living at home with his wife, and essentially doing as he pleases. That s the punishment for molesting an underage student? I guess it is if you do it at Buffalo Seminary.
You remember Malcolm Watson, right? He s the teacher who was .
Watson was the Head of the English Department and Assistant Head of School at Sem and had been warned and reprimanded several times about his inappropriate relationship with a 15 year old girl.
In an odd twist, Watson was spared jail time and was instead . Weird, eh?
The former Buffalo Seminary teacher arrested after being caught in his car with a 15-year-old student is being exiled to Canada for three years in an unusual plea agreement reached Thursday.
Malcolm F. Watson, 35, was spared jail time in exchange for pleading guilty to one count each of endangering the welfare of a child and third-degree sexual abuse - both misdemeanors - before Cheektowaga Town Justice Thomas S. Kolbert.
Under the agreement, Watson - a U.S. citizen who lives in Fort Erie, Ont.
, with his Canadian wife and three children - will be almost completely banned from entering the United States for the next three years.
“He can only come in the U.S.
for the purpose of reporting to his probation officer,” Erie County District Attorney Frank J. Clark said.
We did some research on the question of whether Canada might consider throwing [Watson] out, which would make him a man without a country, said Watson s attorney Oscar Smukler.
If Canadian authorities were inclined to deport Watson, it could have become another Dreyfus Affair, Smukler added, referring to the scandal over a wrongful treason conviction that divided France in the 1890s.
It is unlikely that Canada will do anything to upset the arrangement, he said.
If there s two things I ve learned in this life it s that one should never get involved in a land war in Asia and to never trust a Canadian.
Buffalo immigration attorney Robert D. Kolken also questioned whether Watson can legally be kept from returning to the United States for purposes other than visiting his probation officer.
As long as you are a U.
S. citizen and have proof of citizenship, you are entitled to enter. There is no way they can keep you out, he said.
Erie County District Attorney Frank Clark conceded that Watson s plea deal is a little dicey.
Can the judge deport him? No, he can t, Clark said.
So, the guy skips out on jail time for repeatedly having relations with an underage girl, takes a plea deal to avoid embarassment to the school, is kinda exiled to another country, and isn t really subject to any real punishment. How is this justice? Also, when did Canada turn into a penal colony where we stashed our criminals?
I thought that s what Grand Island was for
What if Malcolm takes a liking to another 15 year old girl while he s exiled on Bloor Street. Will he be punished in Canada? Will he be deported back to the US?
If he is deported, what recourse do the courts have as Watson s citizenship status is currently in limbo at the whim of Frank Clark? I m willing to bet that if Watson decides to lust after another Lolita, we ll have a tidy little international incident on our hands However, .
- I want guys with camo and guns in front of my house.
I want roadblocks and helicopters.
- Buffalo never frightened me. Until now.
- I m starting to feel alarmed.
- I m starting to keep a mental file of which stores and banks have armed guards.
- The murders make me dizzy.
- We have to exercise situational awareness at all times.
- an escalating situation that is beyond what can be fixed by the usual means.
- Even associating with a gang would be, in and of itself, a punishable crime.
So, we ll mark MKG down in favor of a police state because she s scared. Yes, we need better policing, increased community involvement, better intelligence, and more resources for the police on the streets. In case MKG hadn t noticed, Buffalo is not alone as a .
Superintendent of the NY State Police Wayne Bennett, has just briefed the press that Ralph Phillips is cornered and contained in a wooded area that is one half mile over the PA Border.
Phillips was spotted in two different stolen vehicles today. When the NYS Troopers tried to apprehend him in the second vehicle, he jumped from a moving car, drew a weapon, took fire from the police and scampered off into the woods.
US Marshalls, FBI, PA State Police, NY State troopers, and local Sherriffs are currently on the case.
It should finally be over sometime today. Tune into or any of the local TV stations for updates.
EDIT: It s a clean sweep of the national cable networks as CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC are all carrying live coverage.
EDIT: Bucky is reported to be wearing camouflage clothing, sneakers, and a purple sweatshirt tied around his waist.
We all know you have good help behind you.
Because you couldn t have hit that Gun Shop up by yourself! Man them armor piercing bullets aint NO JOKE!!
!! Come thru the studio and lay down some vocals!
I m in da hood they aint comin thru here lookin for you hhahaa
Im getting a bucky tattoo!
The ultimate statement of support from the youth of today, a tribute tattoo. What a world we live in
I ve stayed out of the Ralph Phillips saga as , , , and have more than ably covered the beat and the topic is a bit tired.
However, .
In the stomach-churning saga of fugitive Ralph Bucky Phillips, perhaps the most nauseating notion is of this man standing up for family.
That is what a friend of Phillips told The Buffalo News last week, after two state troopers on stakeout near Phillips ex-girlfriend s house were shot.
Dan Suitor said State Police brought the ambush upon themselves by - days earlier - arresting Phillips daughter, her mother and boyfriend for helping Phillips avoid authorities.
That was like a declaration of war, said Suitor, who believes Phillips was the shooter. You do not mess with [Phillips ] family or his friends.
As Donn went on to say, a real man would have stayed out of the hoosegow and taken care of his family throughout the years. He wouldn t be a lowlife criminal dirtbag who simply visits mainstream society between misdemeanors and felonies.
Just last week, I reconnected with an old friend from high school who is now a New York State Trooper.
He s a good man and proud to serve his community in uniform. He patrols the Southern Tier and the very idea that he is out there as a target of a family man with a high powered rifle and a desire to kill anyone who gets in his way makes me sick to my stomach. I can only imagine how his wife feels everyday as he puts on his uniform and heads off to work.
If Phillips were a family man, he would accept the safe surrender offer from a Cassadega Catholic Church.
Nothing he has done [since escaping prison five months ago] has helped his family, said the Rev. Patrick Elis, who offered his Cassadaga church as a safe surrender site.
Not at all.
If Phillips truly cared about his family, he would take up Elis offer to turn himself in. Elis says he will put the $225,000 reward into a trust fund for Phillips grandchildren.
The money gives them a chance at a better life than Phillips made for himself.
It s a shame that money won t go to the children of Trooper Joseph Longobardo. However, a surrender would return some sanity to the families of New York State Troopers and bring this summer long nightmare to an end.
.
.
.
News RSS