My law firm has represented at least a dozen men charged with the same offense, and they are arrested on the spot. Police give no quarter to them, preferring to arrest, do a perp walk (compare NBC Dateline's "To Catch a Predator" on again Friday night), and name them in the local press, and charge them in circuit court before the ink is dry on the booking form.

When the average citizen is charged, his name appears in the press, and he is forgotten by the press until his case comes to court, and even then usually escapes scrutiny. Foley's situation is unique because it involves others with alleged knowledge who failed to act.

At least the feds take their time before they get in, but having the federal government charge for these offenses is devastating. The U.S. Sentencing Guidelines on a guilty plea have a 57 month minimum. I have a case pending in the Eighth Circuit where I argue the sentence is unconstitutional compared to the usual sentences in state court. (I'm not giving the name because of that defendant's privacy.)