!7 year-old jailed for consensual oral sex

The Rev. Al Sharpton embraced the mother and sister of a man serving a 10-year sentence for consensual oral sex with a 15-year-old, joining hundreds of supporters Thursday demanding his immediate release from prison.

Genarlow Wilson has been in prison for two years for taking part in the sex act when he was 17 years old.

“This boy is not only her son, he’s your son, he’s my son,” Sharpton told the cheering crowd from the steps of the Douglas County Courthouse. “We’re here today because what affects you affects all of us.”

State Rep. Alisha Thomas Morgan said Wilson’s punishment was excessive and should be reduced, just like the prison sentence for former White House aide I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, which was commuted Monday by President Bush.

“Genarlow is the face of many other young black men who have received injustice,” Thomas Morgan said. “Somebody’s got to stand up for them.”

The crowd held signs that read “Free Genarlow” and “Justice Now.” The issues of race and class came up in many speeches.

“If he had a different complexion and a different connection, we wouldn’t be here,” Sharpton said.

Wilson, now 21, is serving a 10-year mandatory sentence for aggravated child molestation stemming from a 2003 New Year’s Eve Party where he was captured on videotape receiving oral sex from a 15-year-old girl.

The law has since been changed by Georgia lawmakers, but the state’s top court said the new law could not be applied retroactively.

Wilson was also charged in 2003 with raping a 17-year-old girl at the party, but a jury acquitted him of the charges.

And Then There's Paris

Andy Warhol claimed in 1968 that in the modern age, everybody will achieve fame for 15 minutes.

He was wrong. Fame is decidedly uneven. Many who truly deserve acclaim receive it, if at all, posthumously.

Many others, unfortunately, hold onto it for much longer than the quarter-hour Warhol allotted.

Thus it is with two who currently receive far more attention than their actions warrant — 21-year-old convicted child molester Genarlow Wilson and 26-year-old heiress Paris Hilton.

Despite efforts to elevate both Hilton and Wilson to hero status, neither deserves such a post. Both of these celebrities owe their current media stock, at least in part, to the same act — oral sex.

In the case of Hilton, the recent media focus — of her driving escapades and resulting short stint in the Los Angeles County lock-up — have obscured the fact that just a couple of years ago this blonde recipient of a portion of the Hilton Hotels fortune was largely unknown.

However, a home video of the heiress performing oral sex on a then-boyfriend catapulted her to super celebrity status.

Continued and well-orchestrated acts of mischief have maintained her celebrity status and media presence. Not a single positive act has been credited to Hilton that would justify her status as a regular on the evening news.

Four years ago, Wilson, then a 17-year-old Georgia high school student, labored in obscurity until a New Year's Eve party involving marijuana and alcohol degenerated into hedonistic sex acts, including oral sex performed on Wilson by a 15-year-old girl.

Like Hilton, Wilson's foray into oral sex was videotaped. However, while Hilton's video landed her in Hollywood, the videotape of Wilson landed him in jail.

At the time of his conviction, the act for which Wilson was convicted — aggravated child molestation — was a felony under Georgia law, carrying a 10-year mandatory prison sentence.

tags: oral sex  black  white  paris hilton  injustice  fame  

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