Kennedy Takes Low Road In Prosecutor's Race

Democratic prosecutor candidate Melina Kennedy attacked incumbent Prosecutor Carl Brizzi today(R), saying that he couldn't be trusted to keep our children safe ala the Mark Foley page scandal because he did not prosecute a former prosecutor in his office who acted inappropriately towards a 16-year-old girl. An assistant chief in the prosecutor's sex crimes unit, Jay Meisenhelder, was fired by Brizzi in 2005 as soon as he learned that Meinsenhelder had sent a letter expressing his love for the 16-year-old and took her to his home where he romantically kissed her on the lips. Meisenhelder was a career prosecutor whose employment with the prosecutor's office predated Brizzi's election to the office four years ago.

"Prosecutor Carl Brizzi promoted a man in his own office who was engaged in an online relationship with a young girl," Kennedy claimed according to WISH-TV. "How can we trust him to keep our children safe," she asked. "This is a desperate, negative campaign tactic," said Brizzi. "The day that came to our attention, I took action, and he was fired," Brizzi said. Although Kennedy specifically tied the issue she raised to the Foley scandal, WISH-TV wisely observed that there was no allegation of a cover-up of Meisenhelder's actions.

Meisenhelder was never accused of having sex with the girl. Kennedy noticeably didn't cite a criminal statute under which she would have prosecuted Meisenhelder. The age of consent in Indiana is 16, and the only state law under which such acts could conceivably be prosecuted, the felony seduction statute, does not apply to the acts which occurred in this instance. The federal child predator law would also not seem to apply since the e-mail letter Meisenhelder since the girl did not specifically solicit or discuss sex with her. Even if the federal law had applied, Brizzi is without power to prosecute federal crimes.

Kennedy is deliberately misrepresenting the facts of the case to make it appear that Brizzi covered up a crime. Without offering a shred of evidence, she inferred in her press conference today that Brizzi was aware of Meisenhelder's overtures to the girl when he promoted him to a new position in his office. She obviously is not concerned at all for the well-being of the alleged victim in this case, who she is shamelessly exploiting. Frankly, I would be concerned about electing someone as prosecutor who displays a willingness to fabricate a crime where none exists for political gain.

Brizzi's office has in fact conducted online sting operations to nab numerous child predators and has instituted a program to distribute tracking software to parents so they can track what sites their children are visiting. Suggesting that Brizzi has somehow or another run the prosecutor's office in a way that makes children in Marion Co. more susceptible to child predators is simply beyond the pale.