Strip Poker Game Began Ten Year Incestual Abuse
A man arrested last month in Washington County, Arkansas, for raping an underage family member used strip poker as a means to seduce his victim. Thomas Mashburn, a 28-year-old man, was 18 when he convinced his prey, then 12 years old, to play strip poker.
After playing several hands, the perpetrator had exposed himself, and proceeded to fondle the girl's uncovered breast. Although uncomfortable, the girl followed Mashburn's instructions to keep quiet about the incident.
Four years later, while babysitting for Mashburn's children, the victim was quizzed by the man about her sexual experience, who then told her she needed a teacher. He persuaded her to remove her pants and lie down.
When Mahburn attempted to get on top of the girl, she protested until he stopped, but warned her once again to stay silent.
Now 22, the girl recently admitted to family members what had occurred. Police investigators said Mashburn largely corroborated the victim's story, and blamed the influence of pornography on him for causing his behavior.
The truth is that, unlike what social critics would have people believe, pornography did not cause the evil committed here, any more than the existence of poker led to the girl shedding her clothing and getting fondled. Excuses abound for those who have been caught; but poker was just a tool to achieve a goal for this man, and pornography a convenient copout.
Modern society often looks to place blame upon cultural causes and forgive the individual; but reality is that vices, including poker and porn, do not cause behavior in those already sick. Blaming vice for criminally bad behavior is like blaming hammers if one person uses the tool to hit another in the head.
One might joke that the penalty for raping an underage family member in Arkansas is community service, so as to prevent prison overcrowding; but, humor aside, Mashburn should no more be allowed to shift blame as he has, than to blame schools inasmuch as he was "teaching".
