CNN 2010-06-19

Tomorrow there will be a hearing that could put Aaron Vargas behind bars for up to ten years. Vargas pleaded no contest to shooting this man to death, Darrel McNeal. Vargas says McNeal molested¹ him and stalked him for almost two decades. Since then, many others say they, too, were molested by McNeal. And now thousands of others are asking that Vargas receive no person time. It is a plea Vargas' sister is leading.

 

Darrel McNeal was coming around and offering to baby sit Aaron's new daughter, bringing diapers, asking to see her, so Aaron felt that his child was in danger. Aaron knew that Darrel was still raping² other kids in the community, and he had learned about that in the days prior to the shooting. So I think it was just a lot of events that just transpired³ and it just -- he hit his breaking point, is what happened. He said enough is enough.

 

So it wasn't years that had passed since this happened, and Aaron felt that he had to do something or that other people would fall victim to this man.

 

No. No, it's not a case at all where years had passed and he decided⁴, well, I want to go and get revenge on this guy for molesting⁵ me. That's not the case at all. The abuse, it never ended. And the police weren't stopping this man, and Aaron just felt like, he needs to be stopped. But Aaron didn't go there with the intention of firing the gun that night, though. He just wanted to warn him. And he brought the gun to tell him, you know, listen, I'm serious. You're going to stop raping children.

 

So, Mindy, here's a concern. People are afraid that other victims may do the same to their molesters if Aaron gets a light sentence or if he gets off in any way.

 

Well, I talked to victims from all over the world and none of them conveyed to me that they want to go out and kill their abuser. They just -- they want to be left alone. They want their abusers to be prosecuted⁶, and they just want to live a life and try and heal.

 

And people who say that if Aaron gets off easy, that that will just, you know, send a message that it's OK for victims to go out and kill their abuser, they're just completely missing the whole point of this case. Because that's not how the victims feel.

 

So legally, are you speaking to attorneys there? Can you give us some idea of your brother's chances?

 

Well, Aaron, we did hire an attorney to defend Aaron, and he could get anywhere from probation⁷ to ten years in prison. And I'm just hoping that the judge will do the right thing and that he will see the truth in this. And also, that the judge will ignore the sheriff's department and the probation department, who have made outrageous⁸ accusations⁹ by saying that the abuse was a consensual relationship and that the shooting was some kind of a lover's quarrel. It's just -- it's outrageous, to me.

 

How much has it played into the wife of the man that he killed is saying, is asking for leniency¹⁰?

 

I think that has a big effect. You know, that the wife is stepping forward and saying that she knows Aaron and she loves him.

 

Vargas' sister says police received at least three reports about Darrel McNeal, and she doesn't know why he was never arrested.
 

1 molested   

v.骚扰( molest的过去式和过去分词 )；干扰；调戏；猥亵

参考例句：

• The bigger children in the neighborhood molested the younger ones. 邻居家的大孩子欺负小孩子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He molested children and was sent to jail. 他猥亵儿童，进了监狱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 raping   

v.以暴力夺取，强夺( rape的现在分词 )；强奸

参考例句：

• In response, Charles VI sent a punitive expedition to Brittany, raping and killing the populace. 作为报复，查理六世派军讨伐布列塔尼，奸淫杀戮平民。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The conquerors marched on, burning, killing, raping and plundering as they went. 征服者所到之处烧杀奸掠，无所不做。 来自互联网

3 transpired   

（事实，秘密等）被人知道( transpire的过去式和过去分词 )； 泄露； 显露； 发生

参考例句：

• It transpired that the gang had had a contact inside the bank. 据报这伙歹徒在银行里有内应。
• It later transpired that he hadn't been telling the truth. 他当时没说真话，这在后来显露出来了。

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 molesting   

v.骚扰( molest的现在分词 )；干扰；调戏；猥亵

参考例句：

• He was accused of sexually molesting a female colleague. 他被指控对一位女同事进行性骚扰。 来自辞典例句
• He was charged with molesting a woman. 他被指控调戏妇女。 来自辞典例句

6 prosecuted   

a.被起诉的

参考例句：

• The editors are being prosecuted for obscenity. 编辑因刊载污秽文字而被起诉。
• The company was prosecuted for breaching the Health and Safety Act. 这家公司被控违反《卫生安全条例》。

7 probation   

n.缓刑(期)，(以观后效的)察看；试用(期)

参考例句：

• The judge did not jail the young man,but put him on probation for a year.法官没有把那个年轻人关进监狱，而且将他缓刑察看一年。
• His salary was raised by 800 yuan after his probation.试用期满以后，他的工资增加了800元。

8 outrageous   

adj.无理的，令人不能容忍的

参考例句：

• Her outrageous behaviour at the party offended everyone.她在聚会上的无礼行为触怒了每一个人。
• Charges for local telephone calls are particularly outrageous.本地电话资费贵得出奇。

9 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

10 leniency   

n.宽大（不严厉）

参考例句：

• udges are advised to show greater leniency towards first-time offenders.建议法官对初犯者宽大处理。
• Police offer leniency to criminals in return for information.警方给罪犯宽大处理以换取情报。