Via NewsBusters:
A Columbia University political science professor that blogs at the Huffington Post was charged Thursday with having a sexual relationship with his 24 year old daughter.
As the Columbia Spectator reported:
[David Epstein] was arrested Wednesday morning and charged with one count of incest in the third degree at an arraignment hearing on Thursday. According to police, the relationship appears to have been consensual.
Epstein declined to comment when reached on his cell phone Thursday evening.
His wife, Sharyn O’Halloran, chair of the executive committee of the University Senate and a tenured professor, also declined to comment when reached by phone.
The New York Daily News reports, “Epstein, who specializes in American politics and voting rights, has taught at Harvard and Stanford and often is quoted by news organizations.”
Epstein was not a frequent contributor to the Huffington Post, but what he did write was quite liberal.
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While I do think that what this man did was morally questionable, it must be remembered that he wrote for a widely read progressive blog and so clearly had a lot to contribute to the world. That’s why he should be given a very lenient sentence.
In a way his situation is a little bit like that of Roman Polanski’s. Why quibble about something that happened decades ago, particularly when the alleged perpetrator has created some of the finest films ever made?