Step aside “neo-Nazi,” hello “child predator”?
The latest charge in the high-profile special election to replace former State Senator Carl Kruger emerged yesterday when The Politicker reported the New York Senate Democrats were running ads accusing the Republican candidate, David Storobin, of being a “shady lawyer” willing to work “overtime to keep child predators out of jail.”
The attack was based off of Mr. Storobin’s law firm’s website listing the federal crimes it will defend, which includes child pornography. The text, which further says, “We don’t need a State Senator who stands up for child molesters,” is juxtaposed with the large face of a crying child with Mr. Storobin providing an ominous stare in the background.
Somewhat unsurprisingly, Mr. Storobin’s campaign spokesman, David Simpson, expressed disagreement with these charges.
“David believes that people who commit crimes should be held accountable for their actions, and people who commit crimes against children should be punished to the fullest extent of the law,” he wrote in an email. “That said, this isn’t a totalitarian state where you’re accused and sent straight to jail (David knows this better than anyone because he escaped the Soviet Union in 1991). Under the Constitution, people accused of crimes are entitled to legal representation before the courts, and a small part of David’s law practice is criminal defense.”
“For the record, during his career David has defended exactly one person who committed a sex crime involving child pornography. That person pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography, received a 12 year sentence and is in currently jail where he belongs,” he added.
“The Democrats must be pretty worried about their position in this race to try and bolster Lew Fidler with this sort of mud slinging.”
