The prosecution said Vincent Margera was drunk and fondled three young girls at a photo and autograph-signing event at a skate park. They said he grabbed their buttocks and breasts. His defense attorney, Pam Mackey said “Margera was portraying his “goofy, outrageous and vulgar” Don Vito character. “That’s what got the laughs. It was entertainment.” The charges: Sexual assault on a minor, carrying a penalty of from 2 – 6 years to life in prison and lifetime registration as a sex offender. The jury came back with guilty verdicts as to two of the girls. Margera collapsed in court and was then hauled off to jail to await sentencing.

When the verdict was announced, Margera, 51, fell on the floor, saying: “Just kill me now. I can’t spend my (expletive) life in prison. I didn’t do anything.”

Our sexual assault laws are over the top. Groping should not carry a possible sentence of life in prison. The nation’s hysteria over child sex offenders needs to be racheted down a few notches. No one supports child sex abuse. But the punishment should fit the crime. This one doesn’t.