Dirty Dishes	Dirty Dishes Archive

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A Florida fellow by the name of Glenn Dotts was found guilty of abusing his two children. Seems Mr. Dotts would tie his three-year-old daughter in bed each night to prevent her from "touching her private parts." He also beat his five-year-old son with a belt, covering his body in bruises, cuts, and welts and locked the boy in his room at night to keep him from snacking in the kitchen.

The judge gave Mr. Dotts only probation, saying he was guilty of "ignorance and frustration," and that prison time would only be "gratification for a sense of vengeance." Hizzoner also returned the two toddlers to Mr. Dotts's custody. The district attorney, who had asked for two-and-one-half years incarceration, expressed "disappointment" at the outcome.

Usually, Dawn would be ecstatic with a judge condemning vengeance as a goal of the courts. Similarly, disappointed prosecutors normally would be cause for celebration. But given how differently the outcome would have been had Mr. Dotts been accused of tickling a pee-pee instead of beating-til-bleeding, Dawn weeps.