Don't mess with geoducks.

A Pierce County Superior Court Judge just hit a guy with a sentence of 14 years in prison for smuggling 200,000 pounds of the weird looking clam.

14 years.

Now, I get it: The state is serious here.

What I don't get is why it's more serious about geoducks than, say, raped babies.

Later this week, the man who's already pleaded guilty to raping a two-month-old girl, will be sentenced.

But Joseph Lehman Jr. won't get 14 years like the geoduck guy.

He won't even get the standard seven to 10 years usually doled out to baby rapists.

Nope. He cut a deal, which means Joe Jr. will probably get six months in jail and a few years of treatment for his sexual deviancy.

Now, I suppose it's good that the state is so serious about geoducks.

But why can't the state get serious about babies who are raped by someone like Joseph Lehman Jr.?

The judge in the geoduck case noted that the system often loses sight of crimes against our natural resources.

I guess that includes over-sized clams, but not infants.

If a 14 year sentence is supposed to send a message to geoduck poachers, what message do you think a six month sentence send to baby rapists?

Does that say "serious" to you?

Want to share your thoughts with Ken Schram? You can e-mail him at kenschram@komo4news.com