Whose Fraud?

"The wheels of justice grind slowly, but they do grind. I have done this whole thing for justice." Doug Macklem

A jury of his peers has found that Doug Macklem was deliberately and maliciously cheated of the love he so devoutly sought that he willingly of his own accord handed over to a woman whom he knew to be a call girl, $800,000.

Mr. Macklem laid fraud charges against a woman whom he claimed he hoped to marry, for he loved her and envisioned a life of normalcy with her extending into his future. Mr. Macklem has some physical disabilities and is confined to a wheelchair, but his brain is in fine working order and he is gainfully employed.

His life, he felt, was incomplete because it lacked the love of a good woman. He sought to fill that gap by employing a woman who earns her own living by selling her body. He knew what she was and she accepted what he was. It was not, presumably, an intellectual commune he sought, but solely conjugal rights.

The common denominator was the exchange of money for the exchange of a favour; one of the pair had physical charms and the other rented those charms for a finite episode, eagerly paying the going rate, which was steep but for him usefully affordable. This was a business arrangement, one that profited both individuals.

But Darquise Johnson, the woman who was found guilty by a jury of defrauding Doug Macklem of a substantial sum of money will now be sentenced for her crime of impetuous presumption. She has been found guilty of fraud, conspiracy, extortion, money laundering and possession of proceeds obtained by crime.

Ms. Johnson, unknown to Mr. Macklem, was a married woman, but she also operated an illicit, but much-valued business. Valued to a great degree by people like Mr. Macklem. Who decided to focus his longing upon a woman whose sexual favours could be purchased by anyone who could afford the fees.

This little fact did not deter Mr. Macklem from pursuing Ms. Johnson with the purpose of persuading her to consider selecting him as her sole client, establishing a deeper relationship to the exclusion of other clients. Of course, to achieve that status, Mr. Macklem would have to ensure Ms. Johnson was adequately reimbursed, and he seemed willing enough.

Mr. Macklem, a computer systems analyst, quite obviously possesses a fine analytical mind, but presumably it focuses its analytical ability on manipulable objects, not manipulative humans. He attempted to manipulate her, and she managed, as a professional in the field, to out-manipulate him.

That Mr. Macklem suffers from cerebral palsy, leaving him wheelchair-bound, was certain to elicit sympathy from the jury. Who decided in favour of rescuing him from his wilful stupidity, and to send a message to an enterprising female of a sordid occupation that male lust renders men stupid and woman should not take advantage.

Undue or otherwise.