Sentence Increased

[FredPuli43]

Remember the man at Snaresbrook Crown Court who got 8 months suspended for possessing indecent images and a 'paedophile' assault, when the prosecuting counsel said the young girl was 'predatory' ? The judge has taken advantage of the short period that judges have for correcting sentences and increased it to 12 months suspended, because of the 'interest of parties'. Who thinks it is not enough? I bet the Court of Appeal won't. And, since when has the interest of parties been decisive? The rule is for correcting errors, usually of a technical nature, not for bowing to publicity.

[emmie]

a suspended sentence for this man is a farce. as to the prosecutor, his comments were so very wrong.

[sandyRoe]

Eddie Shah, for one, wouldn't agree with the learned judge.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-23653172

[Rosetta]

agree with em. I thought we were getting beyond the 'she asked for it ' mentality but clearly not judging from the prosecuting counsel's comment. I hope he is reprimanded for it

[emmie]

he wasn't the only one. And i wish some wouldn't come out with that young girls throwing themselves at older men, rock stars, actors, and so forth, think if your 13 year old was labelled thus.

[andy-hughes]

I heard an interesting discussion on Radio Four with their legal journalist who put forward the view that a sexually active thirteen-year-old who is 'pursuing' a sexual relationship with a forty-plus man is already a damaged individual and quite possibly already an abuse victim who should have a right to expect protection from sexual exploitation, not for her non-typical behaviour to be used as an escuse for her to be sexually abused through her own actions.

He also recounted a harrowing tale of a victim being - and his word was chillingly apposite in it's use -'dismantled' by a prosecution barrister to a point where she was effectilvey abused all over again by the legal system.

Surely we cannot live in a society where a child's perceived provocation gives a green light to an adult to commit sexual assault against her, and then be defended on court on that basis?

Looking at this case - perhaps we do, which is utterly tragic.

[emmie]

it is one of the reasons many sexual assaults, rapes go unreported i am sure, because of the way one would have to defend oneself against the idea that you are somehow to blame, being female certainly has lots of disadvantages in that regard. Wear a short skirt, asking for it, low cut top, same, vile idea that a child of this age would be in any way responsible, and i agree, more than likely already damaged in some way. He should have gone to prison

[andy-hughes]

I recall a case from years ago - and maybe we have not moved on as far as we should by now - where a woman spent an evening chatting to a man in a pub, left him there and went home. He followed her, broke down her door, and raped her.

The judge (ssuspended sentence I think) said in summing up - sit down for this - "You had given this man a more than reasonable expectation that the evening would end in sexual intercourse ...".

I am not often ashamed of my gender, but on days like that, I am.

[FredPuli43]

You should never open a case for the prosecution by leading the mitigation, if "predatory" is mitigation. You may be asked by the judge, he having heard what the defence counsel argues, whether , in the view of the Crown, there is any evidence to support the defence contention. Then you have to say, but not before.

[FredPuli43]

And, andy, we have moved on a lot. 40 years ago, such remarks from the judge would pass without comment. Now, they don't. We still have jury equity though. We would play to that. If you can get the jury thinking that the woman was reckless, they, and especially the women, may acquit whatever the law says.

[Peter Pedant]

.


yeah Freddie you must be thinking about
R v Wilkes 1762
Let justice be done even tho the heavens fall

only Mansfield said it in Latin fiat justicia ruant coela

he was referring to finding WIlkes guilty even tho the London mob was baying for his bluuurd in the street outside

[Peter Pedant]

Oh 40y ago we had

what are the Bay-attles ?

And was it dear old Melly in the Kray trial who said all thro the trial the twins said only two true things - the leader for the prosecutrion was queer and the judge was biassed.

[Spoonboy]

So, by slamming the victim, the judge lets the paedophile off with a slap on the wrist, which, while it was increased to twelve months suspended over two years, makes a total mockery of child abuse as a whole.
As a victim myself, I find the judge's summation wholly wrong - he should be barred - but the extra four months surely gives all paedophiles hope that they too will be let off as leniently, as they too can claim their victims were "predatory".

Child abuse is an unnecessary evil, and as such, the perpetrators should be locked up for their natural lives doing hard labour.

[FredPuli43]

Not sure that our juries are thinking quite "fiat justicia ruat coelum" PP, though, to be fair, we talk of little else in this village. Well, it's being near Cambridge, you see. The lonely ploughman plods his weary way down to the Three Tuns to consider iambic pentameters and the use of the late active verb in Livy, so that is pretty basic fare.

There is no doubt that juries have a sense of fair play. If they think a complainant acted disgracefully, and wasn't wounded or otherwise physically hurt or out in fear, and the man in the dock might get 7 years, they acquit. That's 'jury equity'