Russell Bruce Moncrief, 75, faces counts of human trafficking and racketeering over ‘sickening scheme’

A bail bondsman is facing criminal charges in Florida for allegedly approaching incarcerated women and offering to bond them out if they give him sex in return.

Russell Bruce Moncrief faces counts of human trafficking and racketeering – along with accusations that he used his authority within the criminal justice system to prey on particularly vulnerable women, said a recent news release from the office of the state’s attorney general, Ashley Moody.

Moody’s office said Moncrief, 75, would target women jailed on accusations involving sex work or drugs, including in Orange county, where Orlando is. He would propose posting their bonds to await the outcomes of their cases from out of custody if they agreed to have sex with him afterward, Moody’s office alleged.

  • jonne@infosec.pub
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    4
    ·
    14 days ago

    Another reason to abolish cash bail. Either someone’s too dangerous to be free until the trial date, or they’re not. Their net worth should be immaterial to that.

    • EleventhHour@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      edit-2
      14 days ago

      Well…

      The concept of “bail” is to provide surety that the accused will return for trial. This is supposed to be scaled to what the accused can both afford to pay, yet wouldn’t want to forfeit, motivating them to participate in their trial rather than fleeing.

      Of course, it is hardly used in that manner.

      I’m interested in hearing alternatives, but as it stands, the system is not working equitably because of minimum bail laws for certain crimes, etc. and inequitable judges refuse to use it in the manner for which it was intended.

      So, what would you suggest as an alternative for someone accused of a crime to provide surety that they will return for their trial rather than flee?

      • ImplyingImplications@lemmy.ca
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        14 days ago

        In Canada, our Charter of Rights and Freedoms says anyone accused of a crime is innocent until found guilty and therefore cannot be held in custody unless the state can convince the court that releasing them would be a danger to the public.

        Which sounds great, but bail is often denied because courts are easily convinced someone is a danger to the public. There is also a surety system but that’s to ensure someone follows bail conditions. If the court agrees to grant a conditional bail, the accused needs someone to act as their surety. If the accused breaks conditions, and the surety doesn’t immediately report it, the surety will be required to pay the court a very large fine. Not being able to find a surety is a common reason for bail being denied.

  • barsquid@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    3
    ·
    13 days ago

    End cash bail. Either people are a danger to society / flight risk, or they are not. Money doesn’t make a difference other than increasing the flight risk.

  • saltesc@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    2
    ·
    edit-2
    14 days ago

    I just don’t get all these old guys still going it. Who’s 75 with literal criminal levels of libido?

    Just fucking retire, man. Go play golf. Put the ol’ dick away, no one wants it anymore, go enjoy some sunsets.

      • ArbitraryValue@sh.itjust.works
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        0
        ·
        edit-2
        14 days ago

        Not all older people are sexually attracted to other older people. A 70-year-old friend of mine confessed that he’s sad and frustrated because any woman he is attracted to is way too young for him. (He’s not a creep who would actually bother younger women.)

        I worry about this myself. I’m still young enough that I think women my own age are attractive, but to be honest I can’t imagine being attracted to a retirement-aged woman unless she is one of those celebrities who have a hidden painting that ages instead of them.

          • saltesc@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            1
            ·
            13 days ago

            I don’t think so. Dial it back to us being mammals, and just like any other animal, we have peak sexual periods in our lifespans, based around promotion of survival. It is unusual to be sexually attracted to something that opposes survival instincts. I can only assume, but with fair confidence, that very few creatures, if any, have sexual attraction to something where survival of offspring is compromised or even possible. Obviously age is a huge one.

            This is sexual attraction at its core. Instincts that promote genetics and survival. Let’s not try to think we’re better than all the other animals by suggesting intincts may be a mental problem. Not being attracted may be harsh, but it’s normal in nature.

            • Flocklesscrow@lemm.ee
              link
              fedilink
              English
              arrow-up
              1
              ·
              13 days ago

              Nah. And gross rationalization.

              As an elder Millennial, I have zero interest in someone half my age. Or younger. Which, by your pseudo-intellectual stretching-to-fit analysis, is not a problem, and some 50 year old man is only fulfilling his natural-born instincts by chasing a 23 year old’s fecund womb.

              Emotional intelligence and availability, shared experiences, and common ground are also factors in potential mates. Add societal factors like education, financial stability, and you’re basically cutting out everyone under 30, given typical academic and professional advancement. Are you saying a 35 year old woman is no longer a viable sexual partner? Because that would be laughable. And sad, for you.

              If you wanted to be more archetypal, then fertile figures will look more like a woman in a Botero painting, or Venus of Willendorf.

              • ArbitraryValue@sh.itjust.works
                link
                fedilink
                English
                arrow-up
                1
                ·
                edit-2
                12 days ago

                Note that I’m the original commenter rather than the one you’re replying to. I don’t want to talk about fertility but I do have a few questions for you.

                As an elder Millennial, I have zero interest in someone half my age. Or younger.

                I think you and I are about the same age. What do you mean by “interest” here?

                Emotional intelligence and availability, shared experiences, and common ground are also factors in potential mates. Add societal factors like education, financial stability…

                Those sound like your criteria for long-term compatibility rather than your criteria for sexual attraction. I think they are different things. I have met people who would have been great long-term relationship partners if not for the fact that I was not attracted to them. I have also met people I was very attracted to who turned out to be terrible partners.

                Some people (usually women) say that someone who wasn’t initially attractive to them became attractive once they learned what a good person he was. I was taught that judging people based on their appearance was shallow and wrong, so I tried very hard to make relationships with good people I wasn’t attracted to work. They never did. They were doomed from the start and there would have been less pain for everyone if I had been honest with myself immediately rather than pretending that my initial lack of attraction didn’t matter or that it could change with time.