Still In Prison For Oral Sex As A Teen

ATLANTA – Genarlow Wilson's joy was short-lived.
The Georgia man, who has become a symbol for extreme cases of getting tough on sex offenders, was ordered released from prison by a judge who called his 10-year sentence for having consensual oral sex as a teen “a grave miscarriage of justice.”
The verdict brought cheers from his legal team. His mother, Juannessa Bennett, wiped away tears as she called it “a miracle.”
But the mood dampened some 90 minutes later when the state's attorney general announced he would appeal, which will keep the former honors student and football star behind bars for now.
Wilson's case has gained national attention, with critics saying his sentence was far too harsh. Supporters like former President Jimmy Carter have said it raises questions about race and the criminal justice system.
“As far as I'm concerned, this case is a throwback to Southern justice,” said state Sen. Vincent Fort, an Atlanta Democrat.
Wilson, 21, and five other male partygoers charged in the cases were black, as were the two teenage girls involved.
Wilson is serving a 10-year mandatory sentence for having consensual oral sex with a 15-year-old girl in 2003, when he was 17. If his conviction is upheld, he will also be placed on Georgia's sex offender registry.
At the time of his crime, Wilson would have faced just one year in prison if he had sexual intercourse with the girl. The “Romeo and Juliet” exception in Georgia law also would have allowed him to avoid the sex offender registry.
Lawmakers last year voted to close that loophole. But the state's top court said the new law could not be applied retroactively to Wilson's case.
Opponents of Wilson's release said it could lead to similar legal challenges. Georgia prisons currently hold 189 inmates who were sentenced for aggravated child molestation when they were 21 or younger.
In his notice of appeal, Attorney General Thurbert Baker argued that Georgia law does not give a judge authority to reduce or modify the sentence imposed by the trial court.
He said he would seek an expedited ruling from the Georgia Supreme Court. And he noted that a plea deal is on the table that would spring Wilson in a maximum of five years and also remove him from the sex offender registry.
Not good enough, said Wilson's lawyer, B.J. Bernstein.
“It is really ridiculous when you consider that we had a judge that just said it is a misdemeanor that carries no sex offender registration,” she said. “It is extremely, extremely disturbing that the attorney general would take this action now.”
Bernstein said her office was seeking bond for Wilson that would allow him to leave prison while his appeal was pending. He has been behind bars for more than 28 months.
The judge's ruling Monday threw out Wilson's 10-year sentence and amended it to misdemeanor aggravated child molestation with a 12-month term, plus credit for time served. He would not be required to register as a sex offender.
“The fact that Genarlow Wilson has spent two years in prison for what is now classified as a misdemeanor, and without assistance from this Court, will spend eight more years in prison, is a grave miscarriage of justice,” wrote Judge Thomas H. Wilson, no relation to Genarlow Wilson.
“If this court or any court cannot recognize the injustice of what has occurred here, then our court system has lost sight of the goal our judicial system has always strived to accomplish ... justice being served in a fair and equal manner,” the judge wrote.
Wilson's mother was jubilant at the prospect of her son's freedom and looked stricken when she learned of the appeal.
“It's heartbreaking,” Bennett said.
A jury in 2005 found Wilson guilty of aggravated child molestation for having oral sex with a 15-year-old girl during a 2003 New Year's Eve party involving alcohol and marijuana. Although the sex act was consensual, it was illegal under Georgia law.
Wilson was also charged with rape for being one of several male partygoers at the Douglas County hotel to have sex with another 17-year-old girl, but was acquitted. The party was captured on a videotape that was played for the jury.
The five other male partygoers took plea deals in the case. One has been released from prison and is now in college.
from The San Diego Union-Tribune

Teacher Accused Of Having Sex With Student

NEW YORK - An arrest of a teacher at Columbia High School has taken the community by surprise.
"Like you, we're obviously shocked and dismayed at the allegations," said East Greenbush Central Schools Superintendent Terrance Brewer.
Kirk Hellwig, a 37-year-old social studies teacher at Columbia, was arrested by East Greenbush Police Monday morning. Hellwig is charged with engaging in a sexual act with a 16-year-old male student on school grounds and during school hours.
"Anytime we have a situation of this nature where our educational community is dismayed by a personal act, it causes all of us to have some pain," said Brewer.
Students reported rumors of the relationship to the principal on Thursday. Hellwig has worked for the school district since 1999 as an American history and government teacher with no prior complaints.
"When it hits home, and it's so close to us, it's kind of scary. And my kids are young. They're not in school yet, but it makes me think. Should I homeschool my children?" said Kendra Durivage, an East Greenbush resident who lives close to the school.
The school district is sending home a letter to parents. One father we spoke to said he was sexually abused when he was a student at Columbia High School, and he said he's not surprised it's happening once again.
"We are very aware of sexual predators in high schools, especially this high school," said Robert Reese.
Reese said he turned in a teacher 23 years after the man abused him. When Reese's daughter told him Hellwig was too friendly with his son, he talked to him directly and asked him to keep his distance.
"It makes me very concerned as to the process that they go hiring these teachers," he said.
Helwig was released on bail and appears in court later this week. He was suspended from all his duties in the school district. Brewer said the students' safety will be the district's top priority, especially after the arrest.
from Capital News 9

Oral Sex Linked To Throat Cancer

The sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer also sharply increases the risk of certain types of throat cancer among people infected through oral sex, according to a study being published today.
The study, involving 100 people with throat cancer and 200 without it, found that those infected with the human papillomavirus were 32 times as likely to develop one form of oral cancer than those free of the virus. Although previous research had indicated HPV caused oral cancer, the new study is the first to definitively establish the link, researchers said.
"It makes it absolutely clear that oral HPV infection is a risk factor," said Maura L. Gillison, an assistant professor of oncology and epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions in Baltimore, who led the study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
The findings could help explain why rates of oral cancer have been increasing in recent years, particularly among younger people and those who are not smokers or heavy drinkers, which had long been the primary at-risk groups, experts said.
"There's been a kind of sea change in the last 10 years in who we're seeing with these cancers," Gillison said. "It makes sense with some changes we've seen in sexual behavior."
The findings provide new evidence that contradicts widespread misconceptions about oral sex.
"Many adolescents, and adults too, say they engage in oral sex as a less risky type of sex," said Mark A. Schuster of Rand Corp. and UCLA, noting that herpes, syphilis, gonorrhea, HIV and other sexually transmitted infections can spread through oral sex. "What this article and others show is you absolutely can get serious sexually transmitted diseases through oral sex."
The findings could also provide new ammunition for those advocating wide use of a new vaccine that protects against HPV. Even though the vaccine has not been tested specifically to see whether it reduces the risk of oral cancer, it is designed to protect against the type of HPV associated with the malignancy.
"This adds more data that HPV is an important cause of cancer and that this is an important vaccine," said Joseph A. Bocchini Jr., who chairs the American Academy of Pediatrics' committee on infectious diseases.
The type of oral cancer linked to HPV strikes about 11,000 Americans each year, which is about the same as the number of women in whom cervical cancer is diagnosed.
The finding could also spur calls to vaccinate boys as well as girls because oral cancer affects both.
"This will reinvigorate and shift the debate about who should get vaccinated," said Robert Haddad of the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.
Proponents of the vaccine have been advocating mandatory vaccination of girls, sparking an intense nationwide debate. Opponents say that the vaccine may encourage sexual activity and that its safety and long-term effectiveness are not clear because it is so new. They argue that the decision should be made by parents individually.
Two other studies published in the same issue of the journal found that the vaccine's protection against genital warts and precancerous growths lasts at least three years. Such growths can lead to cervical cancer.
Gillison and her colleagues focused on a type of tumor called oropharyngeal cancer -- cancer of the tonsils and surrounding tissue. It usually can be treated with surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, but patients can be left with dry mouth and difficulty speaking and swallowing.
The researchers tested 100 people with the cancer and 200 similar subjects without it for HPV infection either anywhere in the body or specifically in the mouth. Researchers also examined factors that would influence the subjects' chances of being infected with the virus or developing the cancer, such as their sexual histories and whether they smoked or drank alcohol.
After other factors were considered, those who tested positive for HPV were 32 times as likely to have oropharyngeal cancer.
When researchers looked at sexual history alone, the number of partners emerged as a risk factor for developing the cancer. Those subjects who had had one to five oral-sex partners were 3.8 times as likely as those with fewer oral-sex partners to have it, whereas those who had more than six oral-sex partners were 8.6 times as likely. It made no difference whether the partners were male or female.
It remains unclear whether kissing someone who has HPV poses any risks, but "it is not out of the realm of possibility," Gillison said.
from The Washington Post

Transit Authority Chairman Arrested For Sex Acts

ATLANTA - Ed Wall, board chairman of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority, has been arrested after an undercover police officer said he saw him performing sex acts in an airport bathroom with a man he met over the Internet.
Wall, 43, and the other man were engaging in oral sex in a handicapped bathroom stall Tuesday at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, police said. But they left the door slightly ajar, allowing the undercover officer to see them.
Police say the other man is Michael Pettry, 25, of Indianapolis. The two met through a Web site and arranged to meet at the airport, police said.
Both Wall and Pettry have been charged with public indecency.
Wall's lawyer, Steve Sadow, said Wall has been "falsely accused."
"He is innocent and did not commit any crime," Sadow said. "This false and malicious allegation is a direct affront to chairman Wall's good reputation, and he intends to vigorously defend himself in the court of law and the court of public opinion."
The arrest could be a setback for MARTA, the often embattled transit system that has seen some good news lately. The authority has posted an operating surplus for the first time in a decade and is rolling out a new fare system and fleet of refurbished rail cars.
"It's just disappointing," said Ernie Brooks, president of MARTA's employee union. "It's a bad reflection on MARTA leadership for sure. It seems like it's two steps forward and three back" for the transit system.
MARTA officials sent an e-mail to Wall's fellow board members late Wednesday informing them of the arrest and Wall's claim of innocence.
Wall, who is married with three children, was appointed to MARTA's board in 2002 and is in his second year as board chairman.
from 11 Alive

Christina Aguilera Won't Release Oral Sex Song

LOS ANGELES - Christina Aguilera may have come a long way from her "Dirrty" days, but the singer admits she still likes to get down and dirty behind closed doors and sing about raunchy subject matters.
Christina recently said she has recorded a song about oral sex but has vowed never to release it.
The singer revealed she laid down the X-rated track called "Fuck You, Suck You" during one drunken night in the recording studio. And despite record producer Linda Perry's pleas, Christina says the only people who will get to hear the racy lyrics are her close friends.
Speaking at the Grammy Awards, she said, "We recorded it one night over whiskey in the studio. It's completely breathy. Linda wanted to put it out under someone else's name. But I play it when I have my friends over when we've had one too many and start rolling around the floor with each other."
The 26-year-old also confessed her own music is a turn-off when she is having sex with husband Jordan Bratman. She prefers the melancholic tones of British band Radiohead.
Christina explained, "I'd be too busy analyzing my own voice. I get very nitpicky. I like listening to Thom Yorke from Radiohead. That's good sexy-time music."
The raunchy star has previously revealed she tries to make love every day and made no secret of her openness to experimenting in the bedroom.
She said, "I'm a red blooded woman who doesn't feel guilty about making love. If a lover wants to experiment with handcuffs, then that's fair enough for me! What's the point of holding back that side of your personality if it's horny and turns you both on?"
from All Headline News

Inmate With AIDS Charged With Sexual Battery

OHIO - A Cleveland man who has AIDS is facing charges after his cellmate at Lorain Correctional Institution told officials he awoke to find the man performing a sexual act on him.
Michael Gross, 32, was indicted on sexual battery and felonious assault charges. If convicted, the charges could keep him in prison beyond the one-year sentence he is serving for drug and weapons charges out of Cuyahoga County.
Gross’ conviction stemmed from a March 2006 traffic stop in Valley View during which police found a loaded handgun, crack and marijuana in the car, authorities said.
County Prosecutor Dennis Will said Gross’ cellmate at LCI was a 25-year old man serving a 1½-year sentence from Summit County on drug and weapons charges.
The charges stem from a Sept. 29 incident, he said.
“One guy woke up and found (Gross) performing oral sex on him,” Will said.
The victim and Gross then got into a fistfight that brought guards down on the cell and led to both men being treated at the infirmary.
“It was quite a donnybrook,” Will said.
Will said the felonious assault charge stems from the fact that Gross has AIDS, not from the fight.
Sexual assaults aren’t uncommon between prisoners, Will said.
“Any place there’s a prison or a correctional facility, you’re going to have incidents like this,” Will said.
Gross, who has prior criminal convictions for felonious assault, theft and forgery, is now incarcerated at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility. The victim is at another institution, according to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction.
from The Chronicle Telegram

Does Size Matter?

Why is it we feel obliged to say that size doesn’t matter? It does.
In fact when guys have asked me this very question, my answer is “anyone who says it doesn’t obviously hasn’t been with a very small man”.
I know. Not politically correct. We can talk about anything else. Criticize any other element of a man. But heaven forbid, this is THE sacred cow.
The cliché goes, “it’s not the size of the ocean, it’s the motion of the ocean”. Who are we kidding? There is only so much movin’ one can do. If it’s a puddle, there just aren’t going to be any waves. Sorry.
It’s not like breast size, because breasts as lovely as they may be, are only secondary to the primary act of actual intercourse.
Sure oral sex can make up for it to a certain extent. The lesser endowed man is well advised to pick up some carpet munching skills. But unless you like sex toys exclusively or have been for some unfortunate reason sewn half shut, a small penis just isn’t going to rock your world into the domain of mind blowing sex.
I know, there are positions that improve the situation, but read, improve. And don’t go thinking you’re some Don Juan if a comparison to a pencil would leave the pencil looking well endowed. Because if you’re bummed by a flat-chested girl or some cellulite ridden thighs, while we pretend it’s all good, there is little more horrifying than an itty-bitty-teeny-weeny.
That being said, don’t go giving up. If you’re a nice guy, we’re a giving breed. But don’t go flaunting it around. If we really like you, we’ll get over it. But please don’t ask us to flatter your male prowess.
from Y Net

Singapore To Ease Sex Laws -- But Keep It Straight

SINGAPORE - Singapore is considering decriminalising oral and anal sex between consenting heterosexual adults, but not between homosexuals, official documents show.
Under a review of the city-state's penal code, the government has also proposed criminalising the organisation of child sex tours, and proposes to extend Singapore jurisdiction over Singaporeans who have sex with minors abroad.
"... anal and oral sex, if done in private between a consenting adult heterosexual couple aged 16 years old and above, would no longer be criminalised," the Ministry of Home Affairs said in a public consultation paper posted on a government website on Thursday.
The current law "criminalises all forms of carnal intercourse against the order of nature, other than vaginal intercourse".
The paper does not mention leagalising oral and anal sex between men. Under Singapore law, a man who is found to have commited an act of "gross indecency" with another man could be jailed for up to two years.
"Homosexuality is not widely accepted or tolerated in Singapore," the pro-government daily The Straits Times quoted a Affairs official as saying on Thursday, in reference to why the government has no plans to decriminalise sex between homosexuals.
But unofficially, authorities have made it clear through local media that they have no intention of actively seeking out to prosecute gay couples who engage in consensual sex in private.
Gay rights groups condemned the new proposal as discriminatory.
"It is a retrograde move by the government," Alex Au, of the advocacy group People Like Us told Reuters.
Despite the official ban on gay sex, Singapore has a thriving gay scene, although the government has banned some gay festivals and gay websites, saying they should not advocate a gay lifestyle.
from Reuters