Joey Dauben Sentenced To 30 Years In Prison

I guess this is one last little lesson he learns after its too late....don't piss off the judge.  Joey Dauben was sentenced today and they will stack his sentence instead of running them concurrently.  "At the end of the day what this court has to look at is Mr. Dauben is like any other pedophile,” Wolf said. “There’s nothing special or unique about him.” from the Corsicana Daily sun.  How truly sad it is that Joey finds out that the rules do apply to him in such a devastating way.

This ruling is vindication for many of the victims Joey has attacked through his Ellis County Observer, but its a sad day all around.  Most sex offenders are not granted parole until 80% of their sentence is served, so Joey will be a 55 year old man before he gets out.  He was also given 10 years probation once he is released.

First and foremost, we should all thank this brave witness who’s actions and testimony ended countless future crimes by Joey.  And no, the lesson of this trial isn’t about not drinking alcohol, its about a demented mind.  If you think you have even the slightest urge to have sex with a child, please do the right thing for yourself and society and get treatment before your story ends in tragedy like Joey’s.  Tell a trained doctor in private about your problem before everyone reads about it on the front page.

Joey Dauben had everything at his fingertips.  He started out so young and energetic, he was willing to work hard at his job and he loved doing it.  His enthusiasm was certainly an asset to the Ellis County Press, at least initially.  Joey would get in his car and drive all around the county to track down leads wherever they took him.  He especially liked the political election season, as his boss Charlie Hatfield would take the handcuffs off Joey and he would be allowed to write political hit pieces on certain candidates.  This was what Joey really loved to do, and the buzz he generated county wide as a result of it only fueled his ego.

Pretty soon he just wanted to do the shock jock stories.  All the others seemed boring and mundane.  This caused friction with him and Charlie as Hatfield was trying to run a business, not a gossip site.  Eventually they parted ways and there was bad blood on both sides.  Joey took his Ellis County Observer and turned in into a 24/7 gossip site.  He started to get into the missing children and pedophile ring coverage and decided to not limit himself to just Ellis County, but go nationwide instead.  This is what led him to Barbara Farris, Presley Crowe, and Connie Bedwell.  The more he got into this the more unhinged he became, perhaps knowing that he would be accused of this very thing all along.  Even his friends would admit that they don’t really know the Joey Dauben of today, they just remember the fun optimistic Joey they first met.

Joey Dauben will now fade away from the lime light, but he will never be forgotten.  Some will remember him as a political activists, an advocate, a slanderer, a gossip whore, a friend, and now as a convicted child rapist.  There are so many lessons that his life should serve as a warning to us.  I think one of the biggest lessons is for parents in how tragic an ending you can have if you never allow your child to face the consequences for his actions.  If Joey had to pay in full for some of the lesser crimes he committed early on, he may not have had to pay this devastating price now.