Richard Miller wrote:
> In message , Baldoni
> writes
>> Michael Swift submitted this idea :
>>> I wasn't in court so maybe there's more to this than meets the eye but
>>> on the face of it this silly old fart wants taking out and shooting.
>>>
>>> From ITV Teletext today (8th May)
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Girl 'blamed' over paedophile
>>>
>>> A "high-risk" paedophile who groomed and abused an 11-year-old girl
>>> while on her school lunch break has walked free as her mother wept in
>>> court.
>>>
>>> Jon Dixon, 20, told the girl to lie to her parents as he arranged to
>>> meet her after they met through the internet.
>>>
>>> At Manchester Crown Court, Judge Robert Atherton rejected a probation
>>> report, saying the girl "welcomed" . and was "inappropriately aware"
>>> of ..
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> So that's all right then, 11 year olds are now fair game, the mind
>>> boggles.
>>>
>>> Mike
>>
>> It is because of this very reason that people in some countries took
>> their problems to the organised crime families instead of trusting in
>> law and order. Who can blame them. I know what I would do in that
>> situation.
>>
>
> Yes, but you are not a parent who has been so neglectful that your 11
> year old daughter is disproportionately aware of . and actively
> seeking it out.
>
> This man is not a predatory paedophile. He is a sad inadequate who was
> looking for an adult companion, and instead found a young girl who
> wanted to play at being an adult. His crime is not having the strength
> of character to say no. That is very different from someone who actively
> seeks out children and instigates abuse.
>
> It is absolutely right that he was convicted. It is a reasonable
> judgement that the public is better protected by giving him a community
> sentence under which he can have treatment to help him avoid getting
> into that sort of situation again, rather than sending him to prison
> where he will get no such treatment. It is equally reasonable to argue
> that the sentence was on the lenient side, but it is not way outside the
> spectrum of legitimate responses to the facts of this case.
ISTM that this blurs a very simple message that any 20 year old should
understand - "JailBait" - "11 years old = jail".
So why not a jail sentence, plus the rest? Even if just equivalent to
the time he has already spent in jail, or even if immediately suspended?
However, since when did, "didn't have the strength of character to say
no" figure as acceptable explanation and acceptable mitigation?
--
Sue
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