As The Free Thought Project has consistently reported, police officers, even if they’re caught on video committing a crime, are rarely punished to the same standards the public which they’re sworn to protect are held to. And now, it seems, even retired police officers are given the same preferential treatment.
Gerald Cookus, a twenty-year veteran of the Wilkes-Barre Police Department in Pennsylvania, was sentenced to just 3 months in prison for admittedly molesting an 8-year-old girl at his home on Mayock Street in Wilkes-Barre.
Cookus, who was working as a greeter at the school known as the Solomon Plains Education Center, was seen by the victim’s mom hugging the victim in a way that aroused her suspicions. Upon further investigation, it was discovered Cookus had molested the girl because, in his words, he felt like she liked it.
According to WNEP News, “Court papers show he admitted to police he touched the girl inappropriately because he believed she thought it felt good. School leaders do not think the assaults happened on school grounds. He was fired from his position at Solomon Plains Elementary in November.”
News reports indicate the former career police officer was overcome with emotion, “Inside the courtroom, his lawyer told the judge he’s living with the loss of his family’s respect.” And, “Before he was sentenced, Cookus told the judge through tears, ‘this is the worst thing in my life and I’m sorry. I’m very, very sorry.’” But all of the emotion, the tears, the words of remorse, mean nothing when you examine the research that exists on pedophiles.
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Pedophiles are serial offenders. Very few are arrested as a result of their first offense, and go on to molest children, over and over again. While it’s too early to tell in the case of convicted pedophile retired officer Gerald Cookus (mainly because he’s only been convicted of one crime by one accuser), pedophiles are experts at victimizing.
According to one source which examines research related to pedophiles and their victims, “Pedophiles have a strong, almost irresistible, desire to have sex with children. The average pedophile molests 260 victims during their lifetime. Over 90% of convicted pedophiles are arrested again for the same offense after their release from prison.”
We at The Free Thought Project encourage you to come forward, if you’re a victim of this pedophile cop. Be strong and courageous and take your own accusations to the police station nearest you. If you recognize this police officer as someone who molested you, don’t stay silent any longer.
While Cookus was working at a local elementary school, he also worked in security at Wilkes University in the 1990’s.
Moreover, citizens of Wilkes-Barre are outraged at the judge in the case, Judge Sklarosky, for going easy on the retired police officer. Three months is an outrage to anyone who’s ever been a victim of a pedophile, has been molested, or has been involved in the process of a police investigation of the horrors associated with child sexual abuse.
Citizens want to know how a judge can be so callous as to not bring a harsher penalty to the former police officer and use him as an example for the rest of the community. They’ve established a petition to impeach Judge Sklarosky.
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According to the petition:
This is a deep problem in NEPA that has to be addressed. Corruption, nepotism, and racially/economically unequal sentences. If this Judge wants to impose only a 3 month sentence to a cop who admitted to sexually assaulting an 8 year old while throwing the book at everyone else, let’s make an example out of him and show the local government officials we’re not putting up with this blatant corruption that haunts our area anymore. It’s morally wrong. A man who sexually assaults an 8 year old will not be properly rehabilitated, if that’s even possible, after three months. This judge obviously lacks empathy to the victim or possible future victim(s) and is totally incompetent. He has no business collecting our tax dollars anymore, he obviously doesn’t represent what we the people stand for. Minorities caught with marijuana do more time than this man. Shame on him. The judge also had the audacity to claim he was not a “sexually violent predator”. So judge, if sexually assaulting an 8 year old isn’t sexually violent, what is? Please resign. Don’t make us impeach you. Leave with whatever little shred of dignity you have left. If not, and you prove to us you have absolutely no morals or backbone, don’t for a second think we’re going to allow you to win your reelection coming up. #PowerToThePeople
If you’d like to sign the petition, you may do so by clicking here. Let’s send a message as a nation and a world that we will not sit idly by as judges go easy on former cops. The world needs to be a safer place for children. Priests, pastors, missionaries, teachers, counselors, police officers, anyone who works with children, take notice, we will not sit idly. If you take the perp walk, we will make sure your face is known to the world.
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