Legal combatants disappoint alumni
I am very proud of my Princeton education. But today I find myself very ashamed of the behavior of several former Princetonians.
First, and most significantly, Antonio Lasaga '71 who recently admitted to downloading hundreds of thousands of images of child pornography and repeatedly molesting (and videotaping) a young boy whom he met through a New Haven mentoring program.
Second, Hiroshi Ohmoto '69 who speculated in a Connecticut courtroom during Lasaga's sentencing hearing that "Lasaga's hands must have slipped while he was playing with the boy and the mistake was misconstrued as fondling" (Hartford Courant, Feb. 16, 2002), even though the judge in the case, Roland Fasano, said that "the evidence [against Lasaga] is overwhelming" (Hartford Courant, Feb. 16, 2002), and despite the fact that Lasaga plead "no contest" to the charges against him in January (which included sexually assaulting the boy).
Third, Heinrich Holland '46, who also testified in favor of a light sentence for Lasaga, because of Lasaga's contributions to science — "All of us in science are expendable, but the loss of the most capable are [sic] felt the most strongly" (Hartford Courant, Feb. 16, 2002).
The Connecticut prosecutor summed up my own reaction to the incredible words of these former Princetonians:
"In all my years as a prosecutor, I have never heard people deliver comments so disconnected with reality."
I have never been so ashamed of a group of Princeton alumni as I am of these "men." Victor Sletten '90
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