A Florida man is in the news for committing the vile act of child sex abuse, but it’s not exactly the crime that’s getting attention. The West Palm Beach man is going viral for blaming Voodoo, using it as a version of the ages-old copout “The Devil Made Me Do It.”
According to True Crime Daily and NBC News, the Florida man — very ironically named Jean Innocent — is accused of impregnating a 13-year-old girl. The 41-year-old man says that he’s not entirely responsible for the situation, however. He claims that Voodoo is responsible for his actions. Of course reports aren’t entirely clarifying on why specifically Voodoo is to blame.
The Florida man has been charged with two counts of sexual battery on a child and one count of incest as well as one count of impregnation of a child. These are several felony charges, which could land him in prison for a very, very long time. The relationship between Innocent and the victim isn’t being shared in media reports, but it’s evident that the older man is some kind of family member to the child. Hopefully she can recover emotionally and mentally from this incredibly despicable and damaging situation.
The element of Voodoo in this case is troubling, but not because of the religion itself. Voodoo is a religion that is practiced by numerous people in Africa, the Caribbean and parts of the United States. It’s long been vilified by Christians and portrayed in media as some evil, demon-centered form of mysticism. It’s clear that the Florida man in this case is just using Voodoo as a scapegoat for his own vile actions, but in doing so he’s simply adding to the negative stereotypes surrounding this culturally important religious practice.
Chelsea Hoffman is a true crime writer with over a decade of professional writing experience. She is best known for her coverage of missing people including the tragic disappearance of Madeleine McCann as well as the heartbreaking cases of Dylan Redwine, Heather Elvis and many others.
