Judge: Child Molester Responsible for Patz Death

NEW YORK (Reuters) - An imprisoned child molester was responsible for the death 25 years ago of a 6-year-old who was the first missing child to be put on the side of milk cartons in one of New York's most notorious missing child cases.

New York State Supreme Court judge Barbara Kapnick ruled in a one sentence decision that became public on Tuesday that Jose Ramos, serving a 20-year sentence in a Pennsylvania prison for abusing an 8-year-old boy, was responsible for the death in 1979 of Etan Patz.

Etan Patz vanished while walking to a bus stop from his home in lower Manhattan. His disappearance touched off an exhaustive search for the boy that took investigators to the Middle East. Germany, Switzerland and across the United States.

In June 2001, Etan was declared legally dead by a judge. At the time, however, the family said they believed convicted pedophile Ramos sexually assaulted and killed their son and they filed a wrongful death lawsuit.

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http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=domesticNews&storyID=5039873

Me, I have a problem with this.

As such the Judge has the right to interpret the refusal to testify as the Judge sees fit. In Criminal Action the Judge or Jury MUST view the refusal to Answer in the best light for the Defendant, but that is NOT the case in Civil Litigation where Money damages are the usual punishment (Through it sounds like an order for the Defendant to stay aways from Children can be entered by New York Judges).