The Denver Post reports that Aurora resident Roger Leon Estergaard was sentenced to 10 years of probation and up to two years in a community corrections halfway house after being caught in a Fort Collins police sting involving sexual exploitation of a child. fileciteturn11file0
Authorities said Estergaard was arrested after traveling to Fort Collins believing he was meeting a juvenile girl for sex. The court also ordered him to have no contact with anyone under 18 and to register as a sex offender.
The Bullet Point Brief
- The headline says “sex offender” and “10 years probation.” That sentence alone should make your coffee taste worse.
- He was caught in an online sting involving an underage persona. Not exactly a paperwork violation.
- Authorities said he traveled believing he was going to meet a juvenile girl for sex. That is where “oops” leaves the building.
- The sentence includes up to two years in a halfway house, not prison. Because apparently common sense took the afternoon off.
- He must register as a sex offender and avoid contact with minors. Good. Also, prison would have been a nice touch.
My Bottom Line
This is not complicated.
Sexual exploitation of a child, online or otherwise, should mean prison.
Not probation. Not a halfway house. Not some soft landing dressed up as accountability.
Prison.
We keep acting shocked that the public has lost faith in the justice system, then we hand out sentences like this and wonder why people think the system has gone mushy.
If someone is using the internet to sexually exploit a child or trying to meet a child for sex, that person has crossed a line decent society cannot shrug off.
Apply some common sense.
Protect kids first. Make predators fear consequences.
Period.
Source: The Denver Post
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