Judge to Rafferty: "You, sir, are a monster."

'Only a monster could commit such pure evil': Judge delivers comments in Rafferty sentencing

The Globe and Mail
Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Below are Mr. Justice Thomas A. Heeney’s comments in the sentencing of Michael Rafferty. Justice Heeney defends his decision to bar the child porn evidence against Mr. Rafferty from the trial. He later admonishes Mr. Rafferty for the pain and anguish he has caused Tori Stafford’s family. 

Deviance, Perversion Inadmissible

Mr. "Fresh Jive" himself, Michael Rafferty

McClintic has been pictured wearing the same shirt.

And he says she wasn't his girlfriend.

Riiiiight.

While the Michael Rafferty jury is deliberating over the fate of this accused child killer, the rest of Canada is learning about the incriminating child pornography evidence found on a number of his computer devices. The evidence, including Google searches for "real underage rape" and "best program to download child porn," were ruled inadmissible in court by Judge Thomas Heeney.

Further computer evidence suggested that Rafferty had recently been in possession of a substantial amount of child porn, along with instructional videos illustrating how to sexually assault young children. Rafferty's proclivity toward deviance was also demonstrated by his Internet searches for "naked girl seizing," and "epileptic girl naked." 

Judge Heeney also refused to admit evidence that Rafferty enjoyed choking out his partners, an extreme sexual act in which a person is strangled, often to the point of passing out. At least 12 women (not including McClintic) were willing to testify that Rafferty had choked them for sexual gratification, but were never given the opportunity to take the stand.

I can think of at least one other violent sexual offender who was known to have practised sexual choking; Karla Homolka testified that her ex-husband, Paul Kenneth Bernardo, was fond of fastening an electrical cord around her neck during sex for the purposes of strangulation. 

It is interesting to note at this point that among Michael Rafferty's collection of digital smut and sinister searches, investigators also found the movie Karla, which is based on the unforgettable crimes of Bernardo and Homolka.

Crime columnist Christie Blatchford, who also covered the cases of Homolka, Bernardo, and Runaway Devil, offered her commentary on why Judge Heeney ultimately decided not to allow these powerful pieces of character evidence against Rafferty to be examined in court, along with her thoughts on what such broad decisions mean to the justice system as a whole. Although Canada officially maintains an immense amount of faith, hope, and pride in the jury system, so often are important evidentiary facts kept beyond the reach of those who the court system has given the crucial task of deciding innocence or guilt.

Update:

At 6:18 PM on Friday, May 11th, Michael Thomas Rafferty was convicted of the first-degree murder of eight year old Tori Stafford. He will be sentenced on Tuesday, May 15.

More Information...

The shocking child-porn evidence the Tori Stafford jury didn't hear

By Christie Blatchford @ The National Post

Karla

Internet Movie Database Article

Rafferty Trial Evidence Released

As the trial against accused child killer Michael Rafferty progresses, a virtual mountain of evidence has been released to the media. Perhaps the most damning of all, the smoking gun, if you will, is represented by the evidence submitted by a woman who has already confessed to assisting Rafferty in the abduction, rape, and murder of 8 year old Victoria (Tori) Elizabeth Marie Stafford.

As much as I despise those who raise their hands in violence against anyone, let alone utterly defenseless children, I feel as though I must give some credit to Terri-Lynn McClintic for having the guts to own up to her unforgivable actions.

Confessed, convicted accomplice in the horrendous sex-killings of 3 Ontario teens Karla Homolka (now a wife, mother, teacher, and entrepreneur) could learn a lot from this self-proclaimed 18 year-old junkie.

Rather than attempting to use her own tale of woe as an excuse for the inexcusable, McClintic has admitted, flat-out, that she is wholly and fully responsible for Tori's death. In confessing her own guilt, her aim is not to absolve her ex-lover Rafferty of his own wrongdoings, but rather to accept responsibility for her own.

They planned to kidnap a little girl together. They snatched Tori together. They were together when Tori was enduring the most horrific final hours imaginable. They were together when Tori was killed.

It is the opinion of the author that it hardly seems to matter who actually wielded the weapon at the time when the final blow was struck. I doubt that the grim details mattered much to Tori, either.

Both of those assholes betrayed her.

Terri-Lynne McClintic Climbed Deadly Ladder

McClintic strikes a "gangsta" pose (Facebook)

Confessed and convicted child-killer Terri-Lynne McClintic violent history was entered as evidence in the ongoing murder trial against her former lover, Michael Rafferty.

"I’m not denying that I have a history of violence, but I'm not violent towards children and I've never hurt a child in my life. To try to fathom and comprehend the fact that a child lost their life by my hands is something I could not comprehend." 

Terri-Lynne's troubles with the law began with two assault charges stemming from altercations with her adoptive mother, Carol McClintic. Terri-Lynne choked her mother with her left hand as she punched her in the face with her right hand after the two got into an argument over the fact that Terri-Lynne had been dismissed from work. Carol McClintic suffered partial vision loss as a result.

The second charge resulted from Terri-Lynne punching her mother in the back of the head after the two got into a "mutual confrontation." Terri-Lynne alledged that she punched her mother after Carol burned her with a cigarette.

Carol McClintic (Police File Photo)

Once inside the Youth Criminal Justice System, Terri-Lynne McClintic racked up a number of additional assault charges, mostly with regard to altercations with other incarcerated young offenders. A journal that Terri-Lynne kept while serving time was given centre-stage at Rafferty's trial:

• "Respect"  an entry detailing the (fictional) killing of another person.

• "Locked Up"  an entry detailing an (actual) incident where McClintic stabbed someone during a robbery. According to police records, McClintic brandished a knife as she approached two men and demanded money or drugs. McClintic stabbed one of the men, and the police arrived on the scene shortly thereafter. Although the officers had their guns drawn, Terri-Lynne resisted arrest and punched one of the officers in the face.

Michael Rafferty's lawyer, Dirk Derstine, suggested to Terri-Lynne McClintic that she had no remorse. McClintic replied that she "didn't feel certain emotions" at the time.

When McClintic was questioned by police regarding the disappearance of Woodstock, Ontario Grade 3 student Tori Stafford, she admitted that she had been present during the kidnap, sexual assault, and murder of the little girl, but told her interrogator that it had been Rafferty who killed Tori with a claw hammer that had been purchased earlier that day. On the witness stand at Rafferty's trial, however, McClintic told a different story: she told the packed courtroom that it had been her who fatally bludgeoned the child.

"Yes, it did take me time to come to terms with that. But now I have come to terms with that and I'm sitting here today telling the truth. And it doesn't get any more real than that. My testimony wouldn't be any different a year from today than it is today."

More from Mascara & Murder...

Terri-Lynne McClintic Confesses Gory Details
Heart-wrenching account of the abduction and murder of Tori Stafford, compiled from a numerous media reports on her testimony.

"I told her I was sorry."
Impressions on Christie Blatchford's article covering McClintic's testimony at the trial of ex-lover Michael Rafferty.

The Many Faces of Terri-Lynne McClintic
Examining McClintic's fractured upbringing in contrast with that of another notorious female killer, Karla Homolka.

Terri-Lynne was "Trigger Happy"
Read the actual note that troubled teenager McClintic sent to one of her friends while she was being held in a youth detention centre.

"I basically taught myself not to feel certain things."
Read a portion of the actual letter that Terri-Lynne McClintic sent to her (then) lover Michael Rafferty.

McClintic Covers Up: Scenario 1
Read Terri-Lynne McClintic's handwritten notes composed shortly after Tori was killed.

Terri-Lynne McClintic: Facebook Diagnosis
View screen captures from McClintic's Facebook account, before it was suspended.

"I don't know Tori Stafford."
View more of Terri-Lynne McClintic's handwritten scripted denials regarding her knowledge of Tori's disappearance.

Rafferty Trial Evidence Released
View photos of evidence released at the trial of McClintic's ex-lover, Michael Rafferty.

McClintic Fails Again
Details about new assault charges Terri-Lynne McClintic is facing after engaging in a fight with a fellow inmate at the Grand Valley Institution for Women.

Deviance, Perversion Inadmissible
Details concerning the child-porn evidence the jury in the Michael Rafferty case didn't get to hear.

From Homolka to McClintic: Explaining the Inexplicable
Discussion of popular science surrounding sexually violent female offenders

Judge to Rafferty: "You, sir, are a monster."
Read Justice Thomas A. Heeney's comments to Michael Rafferty during sentencing hearing

"I basically taught myself not to feel certain things"

Convicted child-killer Terri-Lynne McClintic wrote the following (undated) letter to ex-boyfriend Michael Rafferty, who is currently on trial for his part in the abduction, rape, and murder of 8 year old Ontario girl Tori Stafford:

"I told her I was sorry"

I can't imagine how Christie Blachford must feel, sitting through McClintic's testimony which stands in sickening parallel with that of Karla Homolka nearly two decades ago.

Each of these women admitted to feeding the unspeakably sick desires of their lovers without so much as a thought about anyone but themselves. Each of these women, these utter wastes of human skin, were somehow able to rationalize the kidnap, rape, and murder of children to themselves because they believed it would win them favour with their respective partners.

Bernardo Victims' Lawyer on "Sanitizing the Facts"

Tim Danson speaks to a crowd of reporters in Joliette, Quebec

just prior to Karla Homolka's release from prison

With the Tori Stafford murder trial now underway, one can't help but wonder: how much does the general public need to know?

Toronto area lawyer Tim Danson, who became famous for representing the families of slain teenagers Leslie Mahaffy and Kristen French at the trial of serial rapist and murderer Paul Bernardo, weighed in during an interview with CBC's Metro Morning:

"If you start setting up a rule of sanitizing the facts so that the public doesn't really know exactly what happened then you're not in a position to evaluate the administration of justice," 

The full interview can be accessed here:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2012/03/14/audio-stafford-trial-hanson-bernardo.html

Terri-Lynne McClintic Confesses Gory Details

Convicted child killer Terri-Lynne McClintic shocked a packed court room yesterday when she admitted that it had been she -- Michael Rafferty -- who delivered the fatal blows that ended the beautiful little girl's life.

McClintic took the stand this week to begin her testimony against her ex-boyfriend, who is currently on trial for the murder of Tori Stafford. Rafferty has pleaded not-guilty to charges of first-degree murder, kidnapping, and sexual assault causing bodily harm.

McClintic and Rafferty met at a pizza joint in Woodstock, Ontario in February 2009. Less than two months later, the pair snatched the Grade 3 student shortly after school was let out for the day on April 8.

“He knew what to say. He made me feel good,”