Bill Tilden was a famous American tennis star. One day Tilden's car was seen driving recklessly in the Beverly Hills area. The weird thing was that Tilden was in the front passenger and an underaged boy was in the driver's seat. Tilden's arm was around the boy which was suspicious to the police officers who saw the car. The officers pulled over the vehicle and noticed the young boy's fly unzipped. Tilden was arrested and in shock. He signed a confession without even looking at what it was. He asked for a lawyer, specifically Jerry Giesler, who was well known for defending Charlie Chaplin and Errol Flynn in suits resulting from their sexual antics. Giesler wanted nothing to do with Bill Tilden. Tilden instead went with Richard Maddox, a young former prosecutor. Tilden was not easy to convince that he was in big trouble. Maddox tried to clear up with Tilden that the scandal would be big news and everyone would look at him differently. The boy who was in Tilden's driver seat turned out to be a 14-year-old who had previously been expelled from multiple schools for his sexual activities and general delinquency. Tilden was only sentenced to one year in prison. Once he was released he was arrested again for groping a 16-year-old hitchhiker. He was once again sentenced to one year in prison but only served 10 months before being released.
Do you think Bill Tilden should have had heavier sentences?
Do you think the judge is in the wrong for giving him such a short sentence for this being his second offense?
Replies
Sarah,
Intersting topic and one that most people do know about. I would like to see your summary a bit longer and also be sure to reply to student comments which is worth 30 points.
Bill Tilden should be in jail for life! Sexually harrasing a child (even if they have been expelled for sexual antics at school) is just wrong. The judges should have given him a much higher consequense than just 1 year in jail.