Police Beat: Batavia man accused of imitating girl's father to get her released from school early

That could only be pulled off by Ferris Bueller.

Only $250 bail?

This "man's" actions indicate he is a real threat to the girl, and willing to ignore any court order to protect her.

Yeah Bob, he sounds like a real troublemaker:

Posted by Howard Owens on July 8, 2010 - 9:27am
Michael Aaron Witkop, 18, of Ross Street, Batavia, is charged with unlawful possession of fireworks, possession of alcohol under 21 and inadequate vehicle exhaust mechanism. Witkop was stopped at 1:54 a.m. by Deputy Patrick Reeves on Law Street, Batavia for an alleged traffic violation. He was allegedly found in possession of fireworks and alcohol.

C'mon, don't you remember being 18? I had alcohol and fireworks when I was 18 and I even went skinny dipping with my girlfriend (and more) and look at me now! Oh my, lock me away and toss the key! True enough, it was legal to possess alcohol when I was 18. I'm pretty sure the muffler was falling off of any vehicle I owned when I was 18, too.

We don't know all the details about the entire case. something tells me there's a reason why bail was only $250.

It's the job of the police to make arrests. That's what we pay them for. It's then up to the D.A. or a grand jury to decide weather or not to send the accused to trial, court or some other form of adjudication.

I'd rather give the lad the benefit of a doubt than to immediately string him up by his trouble makers. Young people do silly things and take risks.

Mike Witkop just sounds like a bit of a wild boy to me which isn't always a bad thing. Should he be held accountable? Sure. Should we dismiss him as a cancer on society as of yet? Not from what I see. Maybe someone who actually knows him can give us a peer review.

Doug,
There is a difference between sowing wild oats (which has it's own consequences) and violating an order of protection.
What part of violating an order of protection do you find worthy of ignoring because the kid is a somewhat of a 'wild boy'?

The order of protection could have come from the girls parents.

So the kid wanted to see a girl he liked that her parents probably disapprove of. No big deal. There is no evidence that he was going to harm her. More than likely he was going to take her out.

I'm thinking that the order came from her parents as well. These youngsters probably planned this scheme because they want to be together.

Sorry but the order of protection could not have come from the girl's parents. That's just not how it works. Generally you can only get an order of protection if there are some kind of criminal charges or through a family offense petition in Family Court. An Order of Protection is not easy to get in NYS.

hello?..gruuuu...Hellowww? This is Ward Cleaver, Beaver Cleavers dad.

Beth is right. I was awarded an order of protection and didn't even know about it until I received notice in the mail by the court. I did not go to court nor did I ask for the order.
Not to say I didn't appreciate it, but it did come as a surprise.

I am a mother to 4 daughters. I wish that every time I didn't like a boyfriend, I could just go get an order of protection to keep them away.

Beth, my mother in law thought I had a dirty mouth but I loved her until she loved me and now she is dead. I have always had a dirty mouth but I've been married for thirty three years, because that was my worst trait. Give peace a chance. Love and trust your girls like they love and trust you, and you know they do. Oh yes, you know they do.

Bea, I said he should be held accountable. I was addressing Bob Harker's statement that Mike is a threat to the girl.

If Mike called the school to try and convince them that he is the girls father, then the girl was in on the plan, too. If she was afraid of him then she sure wouldn't be willing to skip out of school on a plan that's destined to fail. C'mon...really...c'mon...

Checked his fb page.
His friends list reads like a BHS roll call. While my daughter's are included my niece is. Also a few church family's daughters. Then there's girls I know by way of sports teams.
More than likely Doug, there is an acquaintance, friend, or relatives child on his friend's list that you know also.
What would you say to someone you know asking,"Have you seen my child, she gone and I don't know where"?

Considering the road conditions of late ...

This probably explains what the order of protection is for.

Michael A. Witkop, 18, of 249 Ross St., Batavia, is charged with sexual misconduct. Witkop is accused of having sex with a girl under the age of 17, who is deemed incapable of giving consent because of her age.

http://thebatavian.com/blogs/howard-owens/police-beat-driver-accused-dw…

Doug:

"If Mike called the school to try and convince them that he is the girls father, then the girl was in on the plan, too."

How can you possibly assume that??!!

Also, the claims of the order of protection coming from the parents are ridiculous. Orders of protection come from the courts - a judge obviously had reason to believe that this girl was at risk from this boy - whether she their relationship is consensual or not.

See here the thing. I know him, good friend of mine. Hes being railroaded by a onesided justice system and a ex girlfriend who at the time was REALLY pissed off. Hes not a preditor or a threat to people or anyone. This incident was just him being REALLY REALLY REALLY stupid and trust me, he regrets it. Im not going to say anymore about this incident because its pending and frankly, none of you peoples busniess.
Im not going to sit here and listen to you people who dont even know ANYTHING about him say this crap. Pretty sure you people arnt exactly the model of Jesus. Theres alot more to this story then what Howard is reporting so lets not cast judgements

And FYI, it can and DID come from her parents. Again, people making statements when they dont even know

The parents issued an Order of Protection? NOT! The parents may have called the police and started the wheels in motion but only a court can issue the order.

She under 18, which means her parents have controll which means its their call. Lady I know everything about the case, the kids one of my good friends. They are the ones who called the police and had the judge issue the order of protection.

Absolutely correct Howard.

Jacob,
Defending your friend is your right.
I will exercise my right in defending my friend, Beth.
She has forgotten more about the law than you will ever know.
She has a name, it's Beth. She is not referred to as "lady" using the inflection you used in your post.
Beth is well respected in her field of legal expertise. She works for a law office in Rochester.
Now, you may think you know all of the story, but it is quite apparent that some of that story is flawed regarding the legal process.
Please treat Beth with the respect she deserves.

Brenda, I have no idea what you were trying to say. I don't know Mike or any of his friends on facebook.

Beth, nice find on the police report I missed. I'm sure that's what the order of protection stems from, also. Laws can be so contradictory when it comes to young people and sex crimes. Kids have access to any form of birth control they want but when a barely 18 year old boy has sex with his girlfriend and she's under 17, the law wants to turn him into a sex offender. There are a few laws, designed to protect minors from predators, that can be used to destroy an individuals life when there was no predation occurring. I'm simply saying that the law should be a lot more forgiving in certain circumstances.

Before I turn this into a "who is more right or wrong" argument that really has no winners, especially myself, let me reiterate my original point. Bob Harker scoffed at the $250 bail. I pretty much said there's probably a lot we do not know about that specific case to question why bail was only set at $250. I elaborated about remembering being an 18 year old and doing dumb things. I was just trying to point out to Bob that Mike just might not be the threat that that he painted him to be.

Here's what I believe to be a good source explaining why teenagers behave the way they do. Any parent should be able to attest to how frustrating it can be and the law should also take it into consideration:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124119468

We expect young adults/old kids to be able to make fully rational decisions that adults (mature adults) take for granted but many times they simply can't.

Doug,
You are still assuming that the girl was a willing participant. What if she wasn't?

Beth you may have the legal knowledge but not the cooth to stay out of peoples life . Why would some one like you ,Bea and Doug look at the blotter and then investigate that person to see if this person has anty previous arrests .Are you that lonely that you have to psss judgement on people you have no clue about .Read the blotter and comment if you like but to search files and then comment like you know this person is obsurd

Thomas, please show a post where I researched his background.
Thanks

Thomas, please show a post where I passed judgement.
Maybe I'm missing something, but I looked up and can't find them.

So true, Howard.
I don't mind being repremanded for something I've said, but can't help but wonder why I was accused of something I didn't.

posted by Thomas Mooney on Nov 10, 2010:

Jason Armstrong , another career criminal out from prison . Send this guy back upstate where he belongs , sick and tired of this system that keeps spitting back out criminals that deserve long prison terms . Probation , and parolle do not work for these type of criminals .

Mr.Mooney- sounds like you're a stone thrower living in a glass house. Beth Kinsley is a fine person, and she did nothing out of line. Don't object to her actions while your own seem to be similar.

My only point was that a parent can't put an order of protection on someone as some people on here have said. They are usually ordered as the result of criminal charges and then I see that he has been arrested for sexual misconduct with an underage girl which explains a lot. I'm not saying whether those charges are correct or not. I don't know that facts of that case, especially the age of the victim.

Bud , You are a perfect example of pulling out info you don't know about . The statement with Mr. Armstrong is a fact of knowledge that I have personaly delt with (nothing i looked up or reserched )Iknow this guy and what he has done in every detail . The mere fact that people post comments along with research tries to reiterate that they know what they are talking about . My gripe isn't so much with Beth because she does has have good legal knowledge but with the peolple that thrive on this web site to make people think something that is true when it is in fact not . I too know nothing of this case or the people and thats why I have not commented on the specifics .

Bea , I am sorry for including you in this . I guess I included you because you felt the need to back Bath up as if she needed it . I feel that we as a whole on this site accuse or think we know someone because of what the rap sheet says or from past experiances that we may have . I too am guilty of this and I too will do a better job at not making assumptions . My point is this kid deserves a shot at defending him self in court and not have pre-trial judgements that alter what the public thinks of him . The info is out there , but do we realy need to post.If someone wants to pass judgement on him , let them do the research .

Jacob, I believe that your knowledge of our criminal justice system is on par with your command of the English language and written word.

Thomas- keep digging that hole deeper.

Its threads like this that turn people like my wife away from posting here.

But not me.

I'm sorry but I refuse to believe that the parents were not involved in the original complaint about the sex. Therefore they are the originators of the order since they started the legal proceedings as far as I am concerned.

Moving on from that, its sad that this man could have his life ruined over some crazy crap. There are ways to deal with this type of thing without getting the law involved and instead people don't handle things themselves, they call the cops and use the court's time and the peoples money on a high school infatuation. What happened to the days of the father polishing his gun in his living room when the boyfriend comes along? Where are the boy's parents in ensuring their son isn't causing grief all over town? If this would have been me at 18, I would have been grounded regardless of my age and then kicked out of the house if I didn't follow my parents rules. But since this kid is still at the same address, I am going to guess that didn't happen.

This could evenly have been fixed with some tough love at home and would have saved the community from a lot of grief.

... or it could be referred to Genesee Justice.
Guess that won't happen either.

Posted by Thomas Mooney on December 3, 2010 - 10:13am
Bea , I am sorry for including you in this . I guess I included you because you felt the need to back Bath up as if she needed it

Thomas,
As I said to Jacob, you have the right to defend your friend.
Just as I have the right to take offense at a slam hurled at a friend of mine.
Your apology is accepted.
Thanks.

I just have an observation to convey with regards to Jacob and Thomas's comments. I have been in their position many times defending friends whom I thought were close and that I knew the inside story on.

However in my lifetime I have found that friends are not always totally honest, for whatever reason, embarassment, guilt or sometimes even downright deception to protect themselves. Very few times have I found that I had the whole truth.

I can appreciate Jacob and Thomas's feelings but you sometimes have to balance between belief and doubt as you really dont always get the whole picture, what you get is one side of the story and because of your relationship you tend to credit it much more than you should.

I'm just wondering if it's my choice of friends that I have had in this lifetime or has everyone had this experience.

Seems to me this is what police and courts and juries are for as everyone has a tendency to slant their story to their favor, it's human nature.

Maybe Jacob and Thomas need to keep that in mind before typing things that can come across slightly rude or condecending because they dont really know the whole story (Unless of course they were at the incident as witnesses)Just what they have been told.

It a humbling experience to have to eat crow when all the facts eventually come to light.

Kyle , I do not know any parties involved . What I am stating is that there is alot of accusations about this kid that none of us know to be true . Bea I understand where you are coming from and like a trial there are two lawyers with two different deffinations of the law and that is where I think Beth needs to realize that Judges make a judgement not us no matter what the story says .Who is realy right or wrong rarly do we ever know for sure and when we do it is an easy job for the judge.

Bud , There is only one hole that I am diging and it is not for me . I don't realy care what you think or say .Carma my friend , I am not afraid of it , but I would be if I were you .

When I was asked by a PAC representing NYS justices for my opinion on raising salaries for judges in the state, my response was no. Part of my objection (aside from the fact that their earnings ARE on par with other professionals)- it is time we embrace alternatives to our current justice system. Community peer councils and mediators would be very effective in dealing with some of the matters that clog our courts and eat up tax dollars. For instance: the sign man Vs. Chris Charvella.

Note- the judges just got their raise. Hawley voted in favor...

BILL NO A42010

SAME AS Same as S68010

SPONSOR Rules

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A42010 Text:
S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

10

Third Extraordinary Session

I N A S S E M B L Y

November 29, 2010
___________

Introduced by COMMITTEE ON RULES -- (at request of the Governor) -- read
once and referred to the Committee on Ways and Means

AN ACT in relation to establishing a special commission on compensation,
and providing for their powers and duties; and to provide periodic
salary increases to state officers

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

1 Section 1. (a) On the first of April of every fourth year, commencing
2 April 1, 2011, there shall be established for such year a commission on
3 judicial compensation to examine, evaluate and make recommendations with
4 respect to adequate levels of compensation and non-salary benefits for
5 judges and justices of the state-paid courts of the unified court
6 system. In accordance with the provisions of this section, the commis-
7 sion shall:
8 (i) examine the prevailing adequacy of pay levels and non-salary bene-
9 fits received by the judges and justices of the state-paid courts of the
10 unified court system and housing judges of the civil court of the city
11 of New York and determine whether any of such pay levels warrant adjust-
12 ment; and
13 (ii) determine whether, for any of the four years commencing on the
14 first of April of such years, following the year in which the commission
15 is established, the annual salaries for the judges and justices of the
16 state-paid courts of the unified court system and housing judges of the
17 civil court of the city of New York warrant adjustment.
18 In discharging its responsibilities under paragraphs (i) and (ii) of
19 this subdivision, the commission shall take into account all appropriate
20 factors including, but not limited to: the overall economic climate;
21 rates of inflation; changes in public-sector spending; the levels of
22 compensation and non-salary benefits received by judges, executive
23 branch officials and legislators of other states and of the federal
24 government; the levels of compensation and non-salary benefits received

EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD12081-06-0
A. 10 2

1 by professionals in government, academia and private and nonprofit
2 enterprise; and the state's ability to fund increases in compensation
3 and non-salary benefits.
4 (b) The commission shall consist of 7 members to be appointed as
5 follows: 3 shall be appointed by the governor; 1 shall be appointed by
6 the temporary president of the senate; 1 shall be appointed by the
7 speaker of the assembly; and 2 shall be appointed by the chief judge of
8 the state. Of the members appointed by an official pursuant to this
9 subdivision, where such official has more than one such appointment, at
10 least one-half (at least a majority, in the case of the governor) shall
11 not be employees of the state or any political subdivision thereof, and
12 at least one-half shall not be members of the bar of the state. The
13 governor shall designate the chair of the commission from among the
14 members so appointed. Vacancies in the commission shall be filled in the
15 same manner as original appointments. To the extent practicable, members
16 of the commission shall have experience in one or more of the following:
17 determination of executive compensation, human resource administration
18 and financial management.
19 (c) The commission may meet within and without the state, may hold
20 public hearings and shall have all the powers of a legislative committee
21 pursuant to the legislative law.
22 (d) The members of the commission shall receive no compensation for
23 their services but shall be allowed their actual and necessary expenses
24 incurred in the performance of their duties hereunder.
25 (e) No member of the commission shall be disqualified from holding any
26 other public office or employment, nor shall he or she forfeit any such
27 office or employment by reason of his or her appointment pursuant to
28 this section, notwithstanding the provisions of any general, special or
29 local law, regulation, ordinance or city charter.
30 (f) To the maximum extent feasible, the commission shall be entitled
31 to request and receive and shall utilize and be provided with such
32 facilities, resources and data of any court, department, division,
33 board, bureau, commission, agency or public authority of the state or
34 any political subdivision thereof as it may reasonably request to carry
35 out properly its powers and duties pursuant to this section.
36 (g) The commission may request, and shall receive, reasonable assist-
37 ance from state agency personnel as necessary for the performance of its
38 functions.
39 (h) The commission shall make a report to the governor, the legisla-
40 ture and the chief judge of the state of its findings, conclusions,
41 determinations and recommendations, if any, not later than one hundred
42 fifty days after its establishment. Each recommendation made to imple-
43 ment a determination pursuant to paragraph (ii) of subdivision (a) of
44 this section shall have the force of law, and shall supersede inconsist-
45 ent provisions of article 7-B of the judiciary law, unless modified or
46 abrogated by statute prior to April first of the year as to which such
47 determination applies.
48 (i) Upon the making of its report as provided in subdivision (h) of
49 this section, each commission established pursuant to this section shall
50 be deemed dissolved.
51 S 2. Date of entitlement to salary increase. Notwithstanding the
52 provisions of this act or of any other law, each increase in salary or
53 compensation of any officer or employee provided by this act shall be
54 added to the salary or compensation of such officer or employee at the
55 beginning of that payroll period the first day of which is nearest to
56 the effective date of such increase as provided in this act, or at the
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1 beginning of the earlier of two payroll periods the first days of which
2 are nearest but equally near to the effective date of such increase as
3 provided in this act; provided, however, the payment of such salary
4 increase pursuant to this section on a date prior thereto instead of on
5 such effective date, shall not operate to confer any additional salary
6 rights or benefits on such officer or employee.
7 S 3. The annual salaries as prescribed pursuant to this act for the
8 state-paid judges and justices of the unified court system whenever
9 adjusted pursuant to the provisions of this act, shall be rounded up to
10 the nearest multiple of one hundred dollars.
11 S 4. This act shall take effect immediately.

Mooney is the only one who got the point of my statement. LEAVE HIM ALONE. You know nothing about the case or about him. You comment that his facebook is a BHS roll call, you think maybe that because we all went to BHS? Seems like a logical explanation to me. Then you go and make statement about his past event. The sexual misconduct is directly connected to this case, same girl. The fireworks and booze, great 4th of July party, you going to say you never did it when you were our age?

The sexual misconduct cases, along with ALL the other cases are still pending. I know every detail about all the cases and about him and the stuff you’re saying isn’t very adult of you people. You’re all passing judgment on something and someone you don’t know. So lets grow up and give the kid a chance?

Thomas- it's "karma", not "carma", and I have no problem with who I am and what I do. I actually prefer "do unto others as they would do you".

Okay, let's all join hands and sing a couple of bars of Kumbaya........