Appreciate @ConceptualJames shining a light here. He’s right. What happened in Lethbridge is the tip of an iceberg.
I’m going to vent a bit. Please, if you care about kids and are concerned about Canada and the horrific direction it is headed, please re-post this, and demand better from our federal government. I’ve been sleepless, and searching for the right word to describe the anger and frustration I feel knowing that this injustice has happened in my home province, and is happening across this country.
I am truly grieved.
My daughter is 15.
These girls assaulted by Atoa are somebody’s daughter too, and a judge released him.
Releasing a person who forcibly confines, sexually assaults, trafficked and drugs children is completely indefensible, and it’s nowhere near the standards and values which built this country. Honestly, I have a difficult time recognizing Canada anymore.
We used to be known for standing up for those who couldn’t. Now we release child traffickers, child rapists, child sexual abuse material producers and users back into the community.
It is madness, and complete and total moral and societal decay.
50 year old Atoa was forcibly confining and offending against 3 children. The 14-year-old was found inside in medical distress, transported to the hospital, and reported being forcibly confined for three days, during which she was repeatedly sexually assaulted by Atoa and other men while being forced to consume drugs.
Atoa was RELEASED ON BAIL after being charged with:
-Human trafficking (trafficking of a person under 18)
-Sexual assault of a child under 16
-Sexual interference
-Obtaining sexual services of a child for consideration
-Indecent exposure to a child under 16
-Sexual exploitation or counsel of a child
-Three counts of unlawful confinement
He has such little regard for authority and the law that Atoa was re-arrested for breaking his conditions approximately 1/2 HOUR after his release.
There are many decent good-willed Canadians who support @NIMCAlly and @albertacentre_ , as well as our excellent Law Enforcement partners including @lethpolice, but bringing justice to victims and holding perpetrators accountable requires MAJOR justice system reform.
It also requires Canadians to stand up and demand better for our country, and for our children. Please visit https://t.co/R66oHj0S20 and use our free resources to educate yourself on the indicators of human trafficking and to learn what to do when you see it.
Awareness AND action is required. There is hope and a better way. But it will require all of us working together.
One way to show your outrage and demand change is to sign the #NotInMyCity petition to reverse Canada’s Supreme Court decision which erodes and weakens Canada’s laws protecting kids.
Sign the petition, send letters, share widely: https://t.co/BlpNABT0PQ One click makes a difference. Sign, Send & Share. Let’s make Canada safer for kids. #NotInMyCity #JailNotBail #NotwithstandingClause #EndChildTrafficking
Flawless execution right here by Jurickson Profar.
This isn’t the Toronto Blue Jays in June. This is Dodger Stadium, in the postseason.
#MLB#MLBPostseason#FightForTheFaithful
Thank you, @RandyArozarena.
I started with the Rays in 2019. It was a fun year. But then covid happened.
2020 was rough.
But one day, in August of 2020, I hopped on a Zoom to do an interview with a guy I had frankly never really heard much of.
He had had covid for a month, but had finally returned to make his Rays debut.
This is a glimpse into our first interaction:
Me: “…..You ate what for a month in quarantine?”
Randy: “Hola Tricia. My name is Randy! I ate only chicken & rice for a month. I don’t know how to cook. So I did 100 push ups a day and ate chicken & rice.”
That was my first impression of Randy Arozarena.
Soon after, Randy made postseason history.
He then lit the world up on the World Baseball Classic stage. He became an overnight sensation and instant fan favorite.
But what you may not have seen behind the scenes is Randy’s passion for the people he cared for.
When Randy decides you’re his friend or teammate or a true fan of his — he will do anything he can to make you happy as a fan, or to protect and defend you as his friend or his teammate — at all costs.
That’s how he lives his life.
A little Randy feel good story for you:
Sometimes, as we know, women have creepers at the field. Various men in the stands who will push the limit, say gross things or get too close.
I’ll never forget one time at the stadium, there was a random fan who was saying some not so nice things — yelling vulgarities from the seats in my direction.
Randy, who doesn’t understand much English, somehow understood and noticed what was going on.
It took about one glance from Randy and one step forward towards the stands/fan for the creep in the stands to know his place. The fan quickly disappeared into the crowd and I never saw him come back again.
Randy must have thought that I deal with that often (thankfully I don’t) — but from that point forward, nearly everyday at the field, he would walk up to me and check in and say “Todo bien hoy?” AKA “Everything good today?”
That’s the player I will miss with the Rays.
Certainly the home runs, the fun antics — but mostly his passion for the game and for the people in the game.
So how did Audrey and I end up experiencing the incredible kindness and generosity of being gifted Game 4 Stanley Cup final tickets in Edmonton?
A quick thread on one of the most memorable days of life.