Justice, when it finally arrives, tends to travel slowly and speak plainly. On April 29, in Washoe County, it spoke in numbers a man can’t outtalk: 141 years to life.
Robert Vasquez received his conviction in January on seven counts, three for sexual assault of a child under 14, two for lewdness, and two attempts to repeat the same crimes. The victims, now older, told their stories years after the harm began, one as young as five or six, enduring abuse over time; the other describing repeated inappropriate contact.
It is the sort of record that doesn’t need adjectives, only a verdict.
The court gave him the maximum on each count and did so without interruption, consecutively. That means society has decided not to gamble on redemption.
We are fond, these days, of soft language and second chances, but some offenses burn through both. The law exists for precisely this moment: to draw a hard line and keep it.
The Old Blog in the Desert 
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