Current Events > Judge calls 13 year old an awfully cute young lady and orders her handcuffed

(+) Yeah! (+)

A federal judge has a 13-year-old girl handcuffed and questioned in court even though she did nothing wrong.

Now, Judge Roger Benitez's actions are being questioned.

According to court documents, earlier this month, Mario Puente was in front of Judge Benitez for a supervised release revocation hearing.

According to the court filing, Puente's 13-year-old daughter was in the courtroom to support her father.

The court filing says during the hearing, Puente expressed a desire to "leave San Diego because to separate himself from negative peers and get a start fresh. "Everywhere and anywhere I turn, I know somebody."

The document stated, "He indicated that "[t]he only way I can I feel like I can do anything is leaving, leaving what I knowHe also expressed concern that his daughter was hanging out with the wrong people, who might "lead her into the same path I went down. He expressed his belief that "the only thing [he] could do for her is try to get her out, try to get her out."

According to the court filing, "Several minutes later, Judge Benitez asked a U.S. Marshal, "You got cuffs?" The Marshal confirmed he did. Judge Benitez then ordered the 13-year-old girl to leave the spectator area, approach the front of the courtroom, and stand next to her father's lawyer. He told the Marshal to "[p]ut cuffs on her." The Marshal did so, cuffing the girl's hands behind her back. As he did so, she was crying. Judge Benitez then instructed the Marshal to "put[ ] her over there in the jury box for me for just a minute." The Marshal complied, placing the girl in the jury box in handcuffs. She continued to cry."

According to the court filing, which quotes transcripts from the original hearing, Benitez released the girl but did not allow her to return to her seat immediately.

"Instead, he told her, "don't go away. Look at me." He asked her how she liked "sitting up there" and "the way those cuffs felt on you." Still in tears, she responded that she "didn't like it." He told her she was 'an awfully cute young lady' but that if she didn't stay away from drugs, she would "wind up in cuffs" and be "right back there where I put you a minute ago," the court filing stated."

In the court document, an attorney for Puente called the Judge's actions in the case psychologically damaging and harmful.

"According to testimony from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), children can be 'severely traumatized' by the use of handcuffs even when "no physical injury is sustained," the filing stated.

The court document explained that was the first time Puente's daughter had attended any of the hearings.

Court records show after that hearing, Chief Judge Dana Sabra, transferred Puente's case to another U.S. district court judge.

You can tell who didn't read the article lol.

So the dad said he didn't want his daughter to end up down the same path he went down and that she was already hanging out with the wrong people. The judge decided to give her a life lesson of what could happen if she continued down that path. Nothing to do with being a pedo although it was wrong of the judge to take matters into his own hands to force a teaching moment on the girl.

I read it fine. The father was asking to relocate to another area to avoid that. He wasn't asking for the judge to teach her a lesson.

That's good you read it fine for your first post ITT after my post lol. I also said the judge should not have forced that lesson onto the girl.

Post 2,3, and 6 didn't read the article and reacted based of TC's baited title.

That's good you read it fine for your first post ITT after my post lol. I also said the judge should not have forced that lesson onto the girl.

Post 2,3, and 6 didn't read the article and reacted based of TC's baited title.

I'm just saying i never met a person that i didn't suspect of wanting to fuck kids

what even is this lmao
you people are so weird

Eh, meh. Trying to do a scared straight thing

MOST judges are absolute vindictive pieces of shit.

except the girl hadnt even done anything wrong

That's good you read it fine for your first post ITT after my post lol. I also said the judge should not have forced that lesson onto the girl.

Post 2,3, and 6 didn't read the article and reacted based of TC's baited title.

I skipped school a few times in Jr high and I had to go to court. The judge put me in a cell and said that if I kept skipping and hanging out with the wring people I'd be back in there. I still skipped school and never ended up in there. They think kids are stupid and while they are they can also be incredibly smart. Either way he is not the person to be teaching her this lesson. Her dad should

It looks like he tried to teach her a lesson and it didn't work.

If she's hanging out with the wrong crowd, someone should try to teach her something before things get worse.

Eh, meh. Trying to do a scared straight thing

You believe spending an hour is handcuffs and commenting on her appearance as a reason she needs to follow laws is an effective way of teaching a 13 year old "a lesson"?

You believe spending an hour is handcuffs and commenting on her appearance as a reason she needs to follow laws is an effective way of teaching a 13 year old "a lesson"?

I don't get this.

If I were to say that a puppy is cute, or a bundle of kittens are cute, I'm not hitting on them or making any type of sexual advances right?

This is just "the law's" way of thinking. My dad was a cop and when I was 3, he took me and my sisters(5 and 7) to an empty cell. Put us in there and told us he never wants to see us in one of these cells. It is definitely not what I would call a good idea but yeah I recognize the logic. The judge is not a pedo. Go touch grass if you think that.

That's what the scared straight program does, funny enough.

that judge is a weirdo

Having worked with parts of DJJ, that's actually an gross oversimplification...

(not saying judges and police don't do these kind of things that don't follow internal policies)