Brooklyn – Mrs. Sarah S. Weston, widow of E. L. Weston, died Sunday, three days after the death of her husband. While Mrs. Weston was up around the house most of the time, she had been in a precarious condition for some time, but the shock of the death of her husband no doubt hastened the end. For years she had been taking on a superabundance of flesh, and at the time of her death weighed about 400 pounds. She was a fine specimen of physical womanhood, popular with her associates and always enjoyed a large circle of friends. Her home was one of those free and easy places of earth, where the present was enjoyed without unnecessary thought of the morrow. Bed and board were free to those in need and she lived up to the Golden Rule as near as most people were able to do. Sarah was the daughter of James Wallace Adams, who came to Brooklyn from near Milford, N. J. and settled on the farm now owned by L. Bailey, west of the village. Mr. Adams married Miss Julia Geer and Mrs. Weston was the last of a family of four children born to Mr. and Mrs. Adams. Mr. Adams was connected in an ancestral line with John Quincy Adams.

Auburn Four Corners – Miss Lora Bushnell spent last Saturday at West Point and saw the West Point-Rutgers football game.

Forest City – Forest City is to have a new vaudeville and photo play theatre which will seat 1,000 persons. The owner, Julius Freedman, will have it made as nearly fireproof as possible, the structure being 50x100 feet and built of brick.

Oakland/Montrose – Gay Prentice Blessing, of Seattle, Wash., has invented certain new and useful improvements in telegraphic apparatus, which if used by the telegraphic companies would save them thousands of dollars and much time that is wasted. By using his invention, polarized relays may be utilized on single line wires and enable the operator at any station to reverse the polarity of the main battery to thereby actuate the armatures of the polarized relays at all stations. By this means, the efficiency of the wires would be increased by the utilization of polarized relays, especially in wet weather, and do away with the trouble now experienced, of the instruments at the way stations being out of adjustment when it rains, as by Mr. Blessing’s system the only instruments which would need to be adjusted would be those located at the battery stations where the attendants are much more skilled in this respect than the average operator. Mr. Blessing is a native of Montrose [he lived his early life in Oakland, the son of James and Sarah Blessing] and learned telegraphy when in his teens, under the late Theo. D. Lyons, and son, H. A. Lyons. He is now a successful operator in the West, and many friends in his old home town rejoice to learn that he has been granted a patent which in time will prove of great value to the telegraphic art.

Montrose – The borough council entered into a five year contract with the Susquehanna County Light Co. for street lights. The company gave the borough the same rate previously asked under a ten-year contract, which the council accepted on a basis of all night service and at comparatively small increase in cost. Heretofore, the lights had been burned only until 1 a.m. and woe betide the chap who was not home before the lights went out.

Rush – J. M. Ervine and son are the possessors of a farm of more than 150 acres, well cultivated and stocked. They are demonstrating the fact that the country is the best place in the world in which to pursue one’s life work and that hard times can never subdue the thrifty farmer.

East Lynn – A flock of turkeys, two old hens and fifteen young ones, have roosted all summer in a grove near the house of Prof. S. S. Thomas, near Lynn station. Very diligent inquiry has failed to learn their owner. He would be very glad if the party to whom they rightfully belong could be found and get them away before cold weather. No charge will be made if removed before they need grain.

Clifford – A. O. Finn and Miss Tressa Kenyon have decided to walk life’s road together and were married last week by their pastor. Thursday evening their friends, and they are legion, gave them a reception at their home on the Elkdale road.

Hallstead – The river is as low now as it was last year during the drought. One can wade across in a number of places. ALSO B. B. Handrick, a well-known resident of this place died Wednesday, Oct. 14, 1914, following an illness of about five weeks, starting with pleurisy and developing into complications. His age was 78 years and this was his first and only illness. His wife and one son, E. B. Handrick, of Hallstead, survive.

South Montrose – The slight rain of yesterday laid the dust, but was insufficient to relieve the drought to any extent. Many wells and springs are dry and great inconvenience is being felt. The South Montrose Mill Co. has to haul water to keep their big 250 horse power engine going.

Glenwood – Today is Columbus day and by golly when we look at what is doing in Europe just now we’re mighty glad he discovered us.

Jessup Twp. – F. A. Bedell and G. M. Brotzman, poormasters of the township, have a public sale advertised for Oct. 16th, to be held on the John Mills’ farm near Elk Lake.

Springville – Olin Bramhall was a recent caller in town and has been the guest of his relatives, Mrs. Lottie Blakeslee and cousins, Dr. and Mrs. Diller, of this place. Mr. Bramhall was principal of the Springville high school twenty-five years ago and, at that time, one of the best teachers in the county. He was also a locally famous horse breeder, at that time, and was also a very zealous worker in the church.

Susquehanna – The engagement has just been announced here of Clarence E. Wright, our popular young banker, to Miss Josephine Searle of Montrose.

Silver Lake – Matthew McGraw, a life time resident of this place, who died Sunday morning after a lingering illness of a month, was buried from St. Augustine church Oct. 9, 1914, Rev. Father Dunn officiating. Pall bearers were: Messrs. John O’Day, Morris Hannigan, John Shea, Jeremiah Mahoney, Michael Dillon and Maurice Mahoney. Mr. McGraw was respected by everyone who knew him and the community mourns the loss of a staunch, honest citizen. He is survived by his wife, four children, two sisters and a brother.

Harford – The measles patients are nearly all able to be out again around here.

Jackson – Miss Jennie Rounds, of the Jackson telephone exchange, is spending this week with friends at Uniondale. Miss Corabell Schermerhorn will take her place at the switchboard during her absence.

I saw a news article the other day that perked my curiosity - the headline read: “Statutory rape victim forced to pay child support.”  The facts were pretty simple.  When he was 14 years old, Nick Olivas had sex with a 20-year old woman.  He never reported the sexual relations to any legal authorities.  Many years later, Olivas received notice that he had a 6-year old daughter – and that he owed $15,000 in back child support together with some costs for medical expenses and 10 percent interest applied to the back amounts.  Olivas had his bank account seized and currently has his paycheck garnished in the amount of $380 per month.  He still has not seen his daughter.

Olivas now knows that he was the victim of a statutory sexual assault – he could have pursued criminal charges, but he indicated that he was not aware of the law at the time.  This particular case did not occur in Pennsylvania – but if it had, the statute of limitations would not have expired on the offense.  Under recent amendments to Pennsylvania law, Olivas would have until he turned 50 years of age to report the offense – and given the paternity testing, birth certificates, and ages of all the parties, it would be a pretty easy prosecution for statutory sexual assault.

Of course, the media report is a little vague – but it would appear that the mother of the child did not directly seek child support; rather, she applied for public assistance and the State then had the right to seek child support from the father as a condition of granting state assistance funds.  After reading this story, I did some quick research and found a number of state decisions where public welfare agencies have gone after statutory sexual assault victims for child support – and somewhat predictably, the victims were all males.

In one of those cases out of California, the Court summarized the facts with the following language: “A 34-year old woman seduces a 15-year-old boy and becomes pregnant.  She gives birth to a daughter and thereafter applies for Aid to Families with Dependent Children.  Is the child’s father obligated to pay child support even though he is a victim of a statutory rape?”  In the California case, the attorneys for the father argued that crime victims should not be financially exploited by their perpetrators – or the State when it takes the place of the perpetrator – and that the State’s efforts were simply another form of victimizing a sexual abuse victim.  Moreover, the father’s attorneys noted that crime victims are entitled to restitution from a defendant for any losses they sustain as a result of criminal activity – which means that the 34-year old mother – who sexually abused a juvenile male – should be the person responsible – not the juvenile victim.  Finally, the father’s attorneys noted that the interests of the child were protected – the state was providing funds to care for the child.

In the end, the Court found that the 15-year old male had a financial obligation to support his daughter – even though the child was the result of his sexual exploitation by the 34-year old neighbor.  Interestingly, the Court wholly ignored the concept that the 15-year old was incapable of providing legal consent to the sexual intercourse.  In particular, the Court provided the following analysis: “The law should not except [the father] from this responsibility because he is not an innocent victim of [the mother’s] criminal acts.  After discussing the matter, he and [the mother] decided to have sexual relations.  They had sexual intercourse approximately five times over a two week period.”  Despite earlier in its opinion acknowledging that the 15-year old male was “seduced” by the 34-year old woman, the Court then goes on to suggest that there was a “discussion” where they both agreed to have a sexual relationship such that the 15-year old was no longer “an innocent victim.”  Strong language – but it seems to me that underage children should always be considered “innocent victims” of sexual acts perpetrated on them by adults – especially where the age difference is nearly 20 years as in the California case.

In any event, the California court left open the possibility of whether a non-consenting victim would be required to pay child support, i.e., a truly “innocent victim.”  I could not find any cases that involved a victim of a forced rape being made to pay child support – the reported cases all involve the statutory rape scenario, i.e., where the victim was too young to give legal consent. 

As it stands now, Nick Olivas is going to have to pay the State child support for his daughter – whom he has never met or seen – despite the fact that he was the victim of a statutory sexual assault perpetrated by an adult female 6 years his senior.  It is debatable whether this is simply his parental responsibility or the State re-victimizing a person who was sexually abused.  Perhaps, it is simply both.

Please submit any questions, concerns, or comments to Susquehanna County District Attorney’s Office, P.O. Box 218, Montrose, Pennsylvania 18801 or at our website www.SusquehannaCounty-DA.org or discuss this and all articles at http://dadesk.blogspot.com/.