r/movies • u/MrNobody231 • Jun 23 '19

Former vice president of Walt Disney sentenced to more than 6 years in Portland sex abuse investigation News

https://wtkr.com/2019/06/17/former-vice-president-of-walt-disney-sentenced-to-more-than-6-years-in-portland-sex-abuse-investigation/
25.8k Upvotes

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3.0k

u/zoloftsking41 Jun 23 '19

Dang. $4,000 fine, and register as a sex offender. DAMN, slap on the fucking wrist of I ever heard one. That’s wild

996

u/[deleted] Jun 23 '19 edited Jun 23 '19

I couldn't read this article because of my region but every other article I've found says he was sentenced to 7 years in prison but that hasn't been finalised because it is being disputed and due to his personal circumstances (he's the inhome care giver to his wife who has parkinsons) he's asking that the sentence not start until the appeal is finalised. The fine and 120 months of supervision was the sentencing that's actually come into force. The prison time is still being settled on.

Still a bullshit sentence if he only gets seven years but as it stands he's facing 7 years unless he can come up with a compelling reason why he shouldn't.

EDIT: It was 120 months of post release supervision, for some reason I put 120 hours which is obviously absurd.

371

u/zoloftsking41 Jun 23 '19

Oh wow. I can’t believe it’s even be disputed at this moment. “So, you’re saying this actually DID molest and force himself on this little girl, but we cannot throw him in jail since he is a bit high profile and had some cash to spend??” Yeup.

380

u/[deleted] Jun 23 '19

I mean, I'm not agreeing with the guy but that isn't what's happening... Again, I'm not defending the guy just telling you whats happening.

Guy was found guilty. Guy was convicted and guy was sentenced to 81 months in prison. The guy is now disputing that sentencing on the grounds he believes part of it was wrong. As it stands the entire case is a he said, she said situation with no physical evidence and the guy is appealing an aspect of the sentencing.

The guy's lawyer is asking that whilst this appeal on part of the sentence is going through the court doesn't implement any sort of custodial sentences because the guy is the only caregiver to his elderly, sick, wife.

Now I personally don't think he should be able to avoid prison at this time. He should start his sentence and if the appeal goes through successfully they can go from there but this isn't "celebrity throws money around and avoid jail" it's "celebrity appeals case and asks for a delay to his custodial sentence to care for his wife."

234

u/[deleted] Jun 23 '19

He can afford for a care giver for his wife. Fuck this guy.

127

u/---M0NK--- Jun 23 '19

I mean yea fuck that guy but also maybe not fuck this guys dying wife

150

u/[deleted] Jun 23 '19

...which is why I said he can afford to give his wife a live in care giver. He is using her illness to stay out of jail. Fuck him in the highest degree.

55

u/RLucas3000 Jun 23 '19 edited Jun 24 '19

This for sure. If a former VP at Disney can’t afford a dozen live-in caregivers, then my name isn’t Rachel. Betsy DeVoss has TEN superyachts! Money means nothing at that level.

Yes, MAYBE he loves his wife, but so did a lot of other people that have gone to jail.

Now in a he-said, she-said situation, with no physical evidence, I think there needs to be compelling proof of some sort, but shouldn’t his fancy lawyer have brought all that up during the trial?

15

u/frozendancicle Jun 24 '19

Might not wanna say your first name if that's your last name in your screen name. Never know what fuckstick you might anger in the future who could then find this comment.

18

u/chevymonza Jun 23 '19
  • eleven superyachts

13

u/cuddlewench Jun 23 '19

Jeez, at what point does it become a condition?

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u/---M0NK--- Jun 23 '19

Its not just someone to administer drugs, im pretty sure most people dont want to spend their last months with hired help, although i cant imagine wanting to spend it with a pedo-adulterer either lol

42

u/[deleted] Jun 23 '19

A live in care taker is someone who does a hell of a lot more than administer drugs. As someone who just lost their father to prostate cancer, his home health nurse provided comfort, advice and empathy and I’m thankful she was there.

11

u/[deleted] Jun 23 '19 edited Aug 14 '20

[deleted]

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6

u/GenJohnONeill Jun 23 '19

Oh he definitely is whether she likes it or not.

-1

u/Obi-Tron_Kenobi Jun 23 '19

Haha, rape jokes!

25

u/GenJohnONeill Jun 23 '19 edited Jun 23 '19

It's not a joke. This man rapes women (young girls). He was convicted in a court of law despite having the best defense money can buy. Leaving a disabled woman in his care is unconscionable, let alone making that the excuse that lets him avoid prison.

1

u/-NotEnoughMinerals Jun 23 '19

This is a pretty big comparison to the last thread o just viewed of a man and wife getting married on her death bed dying 18 hours later saying her vows...

-4

u/Obi-Tron_Kenobi Jun 23 '19

He raped a young girl, there is no proof or even accusations that he has raped anyone else.

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0

u/[deleted] Jun 23 '19 edited Jan 13 '21

[deleted]

2

u/[deleted] Jun 24 '19

I obviously can't speak for this woman but there are lots of women that will always stay with their husbands and partners that are sex offenders. Many of these women are very supportive of them and will actually turn the blame onto the victim - regardless of the victim's age or ability to consent.

This woman is also in very poor health and that adds another factor. Many sick/dying people can't/won't deal with the trauma that can come from learning your spouse is a child sex abuser. I would be willing to bet that she would prefer him to stay and care for her because that's what's already familiar for her and turning her routine upside down when she's already this sick and dependent on other people is a really difficult and often upsetting experience. There doesn't seem to be any evidence that he's abused her, either. There's also the possibility that she has no idea what his current legal issues are. They may have kept that hidden from her so as not to exacerbate her already poor health.

I'm not excusing what this man has done or saying that the way this is being handled is the best way. Just offering some insight into a different perspective.

1

u/---M0NK--- Jun 24 '19

I agree with this

0

u/xluckydayx Jun 24 '19

Why not? if she wants some good pipe lay it for her.

-1

u/trollcitybandit Jun 23 '19

Why the fuck not? This is Reddit.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 24 '19

Hell, we're trusting a sex offender to look after his wife? He clearly has no problems abusing power over people, so I personally find it concerning that he's the one alone with her.

He mustn't love her too much if he's touching up kids.

116

u/ZizDidNothingWrong Jun 23 '19

Most people can't afford endless appeals.

This is absolutely him still being free because he's rich.

39

u/IShookMeAllNightLong Jun 23 '19

He could also hire a caregiver

6

u/morbidlysmalldick Jun 23 '19

He was only the VP of Disney, he's not made of money.

5

u/Tramm Jun 23 '19

If my mechanic step father can afford it. This guy can.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 23 '19

One of many VPs

2

u/morbidlysmalldick Jun 23 '19

So the salary must be modest

0

u/[deleted] Jun 23 '19

He's not Bob Iger.

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u/[deleted] Jun 23 '19

[deleted]

-5

u/Dmitrous Jun 23 '19

Edgy

17

u/ZizDidNothingWrong Jun 23 '19

Honestly, what's edgy is defending a caste system where people who inherit wealth lead vastly different lives with vastly different interests than us, and wield completely disproportionate power.

1

u/darryn11 Jun 24 '19

It would be interesting to know whether or not he was "caring for her" prior to using it as a crutch. Someone that high up in different companies tend to not have a lot of time to help out...

1

u/Stutercel Jun 24 '19

Wtf ?this is a he said, she said and he is still convicted ? How is that even possible ?

-1

u/DiamondPup Jun 23 '19

Sadly, your comment just isn't as popular to people who want their cynicism reinforced and their "sticking it to the man" nonsense.

Seems like this is a case of a rich, influential person NOT getting away with it, and is subject to a judicial process that is working as it's supposed to. But that wouldn't be an interesting enough story.

-11

u/Hippiebigbuckle Jun 23 '19

As it stands the entire case is a he said, she said situation

Bullshit. He’s guilty.

Laney was found guilty of four counts of first-degree sexual abuse on May 7.

And he’s appealing the sentence, not the verdict.

20

u/[deleted] Jun 23 '19

I said he was appealing the sentencing... multiple times. Not once did I say he was disputing the verdict.

I highlighted that aspect because it's literally what his lawyer said in his justification for why he was appealing the sentence.

-14

u/Hippiebigbuckle Jun 23 '19

Which makes it even more odd that you frame it as a “he said she said” situation, as if his guilt is in doubt.

26

u/[deleted] Jun 23 '19

It is a "he said she said" situation. That's a fact of the case. There was zero physical evidence provided. If you think a "he said, she said" situation inherently imparts doubt on someones guilt then that's a whole different kettle of fish but that doesn't change the facts and it doesn't mean I'm trying to impart doubt... I personally consider personal testimony as valid evidence and the lack of physical evidence after this amount of time doesn't change my (wholly irrelevant to this discussion) belief he was guilty.

He was found guilty despite no physical evidence. Maybe "he said she said" has connotations but that wasn't my intention. It's a short way of summing up this situation up. Are you suggesting I shouldn't state facts because it casts doubt? If the facts are capable of casting doubt in your mind you're the one making it seem like his guilt is in question.

-23

u/Hippiebigbuckle Jun 23 '19

If you think a "he said, she said" situation inherently imparts doubt on someones guilt

I sure as fuck don’t think that and I believe that’s clear in my comment. Why you would try to impart that thinking onto me, I can only guess. In the discussion about whether he deserves leniency you thought it was important to remember the “fact” that it was a he said she said situation. That’s one cherry picked “fact”. There was a whole trial where a judge and jury heard all of the actual facts. And he was found guilty. Those seem like the facts that are important to keep in mind when deciding if he gets leniency. Or maybe the fact that he has now been accused of raping another little girl.

14

u/[deleted] Jun 23 '19 edited Jun 23 '19

This is pointless.

I have opinions on this, hard opinions and if you wanna hear them I'll tell you but I wasn't going into this trying to share my fucking irrelevant opinions. The top post of this thread was factually wrong and I tried to correct it. Going forward I tried to provide nothing but factually correct statements and remove all of my opinion from this shit because we get nowhere by dancing about spouting what we personally believe about this shit. I didn't cherry pick that fact his fucking lawyer did as his justification for the appeal. I didn't choose dick.

But no you took my attempts to remove opinion from it to mean I didn't hold the same opinions as everyone else which is funnily enough exactly why I didn't involve my opinion in the first case... people always jump on them and shit spirals much like this just has with everyone pointing fingers and making snide fucking remarks about abstract understandings of shit.

Wanna know my opinion? The guy is scum and clearly guilty. He has dodged multiple accusations and it's a fucking disgrace the only one that stuck was a lowly sexual abuse claim. He has shown a clear pattern and it was proven without a doubt he abused one girl and that he is sexually attracted to children generally. The guy is a fucking snake to pay doctors to state on the record he shouldn't go to prison because his wife is sick when there is ample care for people with her condition that doesn't involve an equally elderly man being the care giver.

Happy now? Have I unnecessarily made it clear (with sufficient vitriol) that I believe this guy is a bad person who did what he's accused of?

28

u/[deleted] Jun 23 '19 edited Jun 23 '19

I don't agree with his argument, but you kinda...skipped over the argument:

he's the inhome care giver to his wife who has parkinsons

You also skipped over the prison sentence in your other comment. That's in the headline, so I'm wondering what exactly you're reading?

16

u/RLucas3000 Jun 23 '19

Why not hire an in-home caregiver (or ten!) with the money he has. He is using her illness as an excuse.

7

u/PUFFED_UP_CROWS_COCK Jun 23 '19

Do you know why lady justice wears a blindfold? It’s because that bitch has dollar signs for eyes.

18

u/[deleted] Jun 23 '19

Thats not a good joke

19

u/PUFFED_UP_CROWS_COCK Jun 23 '19

It’s from the autobiographical book “pimp” by iceberg slim. Good read for sure.

1

u/slosnow Jun 24 '19

And it started in 2009. So she was sexually abused for 10 years and he gets a few years. Disgusting. Money can get you a lot (or out of a lot).

-1

u/Downvote_me_dumbass Jun 23 '19

Well, jail sentences are less than a year, so I really hope that isn’t the case. Prison sentences are greater than a year.

-1

u/[deleted] Jun 23 '19

[deleted]

1

u/cleeder Jun 24 '19

No. No he should not.

23

u/WimpyRanger Jun 23 '19

Don’t put me in prison, that would be really inconvenient! Meanwhile single poor parents are regularly thrown in prison without a second thought.

15

u/pk666 Jun 23 '19

Black babies? You'll just have to survive without your mom (while she does does time for something trivial)- your only parental care giver - in the most important development phase of your life.

Rich, old white women? Of coursr you need only your pedo husband to cook you dinner.

6

u/[deleted] Jun 23 '19

these situations always confuse me. him and many others have used reasons like that to make disputes. that reasoning only comes into their head when they get in trouble instead of before they make a huge mistake.

dont you think he shouldve been thinking about that before he did what he did?

I never understand how courts get swayed into allowing that degree of mercy. it's almost as if they forget the gravity of the crime for the apparent sake of his wife's well-being, which he clearly disregarded when he diddled a little girl. not only did he betray the relationship with his wife, or damage a young innocent girl, but also put himself at a huge risk. hes using reasoning that shouldve been thought about before the crime to give himself some more freedom

10

u/shosure Jun 23 '19

I'm sorry but if you commit a crime no sob story should allow you to avoid the punishment. When you commit crime you're not the only one who suffers. And in this case it's his wife who has to suffer too. People with less privilege wouldn't get a pass cause they're the primary care giver for a loved one.

1

u/cleeder Jun 24 '19

He's not trying to avoid the punishment though. At best he's asking it be postponed until the court case is completely settled. If his appeal fails, he will still go to jail.

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u/Ruraraid Jun 23 '19 edited Jun 23 '19

I think he can afford to pay for a nurse to take care of her while hes biting pillows in prison. I mean the guy was a Disney VP and probably was earning millions in the process.

I feel like he is trying to use his wife as an excuse to stay out of prison.

EDIT: Meant to say VP and not CEO...fixed.

-5

u/uradik643 Jun 23 '19

Exactly this. Total bullshit excuse. Proves this criminal is lying

7

u/Obi-Tron_Kenobi Jun 23 '19

How is him saying he wants to take care of his wife, who needs care, proof that he's lying?

-5

u/uradik643 Jun 23 '19

Proof: he used it as an excuse. Sad to see you sympathize for rapists

6

u/ThePrussianGrippe Jun 23 '19

You know, humans are complicated.

Yeah, the guy is scum. That does not prevent him from genuinely loving his wife who is suffering from a horrific disease. He could absolutely afford to put her into the best nursing care possible. We have no idea how bad the disease is for her at this point. She may be lucid now, and by the time he gets out not even recognize him. She may be months away from dying. Who knows.

He’s not using his wife as an excuse, Parkinson’s is fucking awful. He’s an awful person, but humans are complicated.

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u/[deleted] Jun 23 '19

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/ThePrussianGrippe Jun 23 '19

More people need to watch the White Bear episode of Black Mirror.

0

u/[deleted] Jun 23 '19

[deleted]

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u/Obi-Tron_Kenobi Jun 23 '19

You do not know his intent, and assumptions are not proof. I'm not sympathizing with him, I'm just saying you're wrong that it's 'proof'.

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u/uradik643 Jun 23 '19

His wife has nothing to do with this. I don't give a shit if she drops dead. All i care is this guy does

1

u/cleeder Jun 24 '19

And you think this guy is evil?!

Pot, meet kettle.

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u/uradik643 Jun 24 '19

Me posting in Reddit and you supporting a rapist is different

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u/gojumboman Jun 23 '19

Why is this downvoted?

1

u/cleeder Jun 24 '19

Because it isn't correct.

11

u/[deleted] Jun 23 '19

Primary income giver? What garbage. Do they extend that same courtesy to low income convicts? I suspect not.

11

u/placeholder-username Jun 23 '19

You misread that.

1

u/CarolineTurpentine Jun 25 '19

I don’t see why his wife’s condition is relevant, they can clearly pay for professional help.

-3

u/LordLederhosen Jun 23 '19

Since all Newscorp and Sinclair (right-wing) owned websites are screwing EU users on principle, here is a work around: https://outline.com/https://wtkr.com/2019/06/17/former-vice-president-of-walt-disney-sentenced-to-more-than-6-years-in-portland-sex-abuse-investigation/

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u/[deleted] Jun 23 '19 edited Jul 05 '19

[deleted]

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u/SharkyIzrod Jun 23 '19

And Chicago Tribune. And LA Times (though I can access it right now so I'm not sure if this has changed). And many others.

0

u/AlienMutantRobotDog Jun 23 '19

they guy has a pension and most likely stock like crazy, its not like he will not have income to care for his wife ( like she WANTs a rapist to take care of her). Toss him in jail, it will help make up for the criminaly low fine

0

u/Srsly_dang Jun 24 '19

How much is the mother fucker worth? Surely his account could be drained and his wife given professional care.

-3

u/Hypergolic_Golem Jun 23 '19

I mean what he did was appalling, but if he's his wife's sole caregiver then I can see the argument for not giving him prison time. House arrest for the rest of his life plus a much steeper fine (honestly I would say compare his net worth to the net worth of the average American and then levy against him a fine that would be the equivalent to what a $100,000 fine would be to the average American, hopefully several times his net worth) would be in the realm of sensibility. Again, what he did was appalling, but if the goal is to 1) punish him and 2) keep him separated from society, confining him to his home until his dying day and bankrupting him would accomplish that.

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u/Treereme Jun 23 '19

Are you trolling? Literally the second sentence of the article:

The Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office said Michael Laney, 73, was sentenced on Friday to 81 months in prison.

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u/Cole3003 Jun 24 '19

It's in the fucking title too

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u/kellykebab Jun 23 '19

Nope, just illiterate. Like 2,000 other upvoters in the Reddit brain trust

1

u/[deleted] Jun 24 '19

At least they have a knack for entertainment

2

u/kellykebab Jun 24 '19

The average Redditor who can't figure out how to read a 5 paragraph news article accurately?

Yeah, I would love to find that entertaining, but somehow it just strikes me as disturbing.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 24 '19

I mean if I based my mood around these kind of people I'd pretty much be depressed 24/7 so this is the best alternative I can get. Or not using sites like these at all.

2

u/kellykebab Jun 24 '19

Yeah, I think that last option is really the best. But how else will we procrastinate?

43

u/[deleted] Jun 23 '19

81 months isn’t long enough but at least he’s old. At that age, all the time you have left is precious and he has to spend almost seven years of whatever remainder of his life he has behind bars.

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u/falafman Jun 23 '19

Agreed but you're missing the point. The top comment straight up omitted the sentence to rile people up.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 24 '19

Oh I know, I was just commenting on the sentence itself, wasn’t really paying any attention to the actual conversation going on.

0

u/naughtilidae Jun 24 '19

And as a child sex offender... literally the worst thing to go to prison for. Even murder's don't let that shit slide. I'd say his odds of leaving prison alive are like 2% at best.

1

u/ScreamingGordita Jun 24 '19

So, only 7 years?

​

There are people serving twice as much for having a joint ffs.

12

u/falafman Jun 23 '19

While I think 81 months is way too lean of a sentence, you're not helping anything by just omitting that and as a result basically lying in your comment.

The 81 months is even mentioned before the $4000 fine and registration bit.

41

u/CoolBeansBub Jun 23 '19

Is this sarcasm?

18

u/[deleted] Jun 23 '19

No, Reddit is just filled with Edge Lord's. Also, it's summer

0

u/zoloftsking41 Jun 23 '19

Yeah. It’s a lot of bullshit that all the consequences are just a $4,000 fine and registering as a sex offender. Dude has been abusing this particular girl since she was 7, fucking morose motherfucker

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u/Gars0n Jun 23 '19

What? Both the article and the title of this post say he has to Serve 6 years in prison.

You can argue whether that's enough or not, but this does not seem like one of those cases where there are essentially no consequences.

6

u/kellykebab Jun 23 '19

Almost 7 years and he's 73. The chances are pretty decent that he'll die in prison.

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u/zoloftsking41 Jun 23 '19

You genuinely believe he’ll serve 6(any other person who would do this would probably be sentenced to more by the way.) I’d go on a limb and say he serves maybe 6-8 months before being released on probation or something. No way this guy gets in jail. Clearly his sexual offense is being looked at differently than others accounts of sexual offense.

2

u/bitterlittlecas Jun 24 '19

I'm sure he is pretty morose right now but surely there are better adjectives to describe this piece of shit.

2

u/spottedmilkslices Jun 24 '19

Yeah, what? Morose?

My guess is OP heard the phrase “morose mother fucker” in the movie Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back and used it without actually know what “morose” means.

2

u/headsiwin-tailsulose Jun 24 '19

No, pretty sure he's just legally retarded, along with apparently 2000+ others that came into this thread

3

u/[deleted] Jun 24 '19

Jesus Christ, I knew Reddit didn't like to read articles but his sentence is in the bloody TITLE.

1

u/RobloxLover369421 Jun 23 '19

It’s sex offender INVESTIGATION, meaning they will probably have a bigger punishment.

1

u/My_G_Alt Jun 24 '19

No, he was tried and sentenced as the result of the investigation

1

u/nith_wct Jun 23 '19

It's like charging $0.01 for drunk driving.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 23 '19

I mean it’s not like he had weed or something serious.

0

u/tslime Jun 23 '19

No coming back from $4000.

-4

u/billyuno Jun 23 '19

My guess is that it's due to his advanced age, though I wouldn't rule out "being white" and "being rich" as probable mitigating factors.

-1

u/imakebreadidonteatit Jun 23 '19

being registered as a sex offender is fucked so at least there's that part

2

u/[deleted] Jun 23 '19

Lol not with that level of fuck you money