AIBU to think the judge’s comments in this case are completely inappropriate?

A male judge states that a 13 year old child wasn't traumatised by her rape!

You missed the point. It's not about the crime itself, it's about the reporting of the crime.

The comments about context refer to the judge’s comments. Which were the original subject of this thread and also the DM story.

This has been stated and explained repeatedly, including in the post you just quoted.

Why do people keep on conflating the crime itself and the judge’s comments? Is it intentional? Can anyone point to a single post suggesting that the crime might ‘look better’ with more information?

No contextual information makes this kind of crime look any better. So while this may apply elsewhere - it doesn’t apply here.

But it is relevant because different media organisations want to push different messages, they pick and choose which facts to highlight, and will leave out context or explanatory information.

The thread is about the judge's comments. It appears from some of the other posts that the Mail has reported what was said but left out the context - why would it do that? What message is it trying to give its readers? I think the vast majority know the answers to those two questions...

I agree completely.

I think extra time should be added for specific violence (eg strangulation) as that’s a crime independently. But it seems ludicrous to sentence based on the feelings of the victim which as you point out may vary.

I must admit I’m a bit flummoxed by the “suffering psychological harm” being relevant.

Some people have a stiff upper lip, or pretend to, or bury a trauma. It does not mean they are any less traumatised than a more demonstrative person.

A crime is a crime. If someone steals my bag they’ve stolen my bag. My attitude surrounding said bag stealing shouldn’t enter into it.

Can you link it? I’m a legal Eagle so v interested

No, it wasn't; and the judge was criticized strongly at the time for his bizarre interpretation of the law.

It wasn’t such an issue back then, we didn’t have small boats - they weren’t a thing. It was mainly Vietnamese arriving in lorries and they’re a low risk group of men as far as sex offences are concerned.

I hate to play straight into the hands of the likes of the Daily Mail, but in my adult life, I've had:

-A man follow me and repeatedly ask how often I had sex with my boyfriend
-A man pick me up and try to run out of a nightclub carrying me, after I'd told him I wasn't interested (thankfully the bouncer stopped him)
-A man grab me and forcibly kiss me in the street
-A man approach me and tell my husband he shouldn't allow me to go out wearing what I was wearing (shorts and T-shirt)
And whilst I didn't stop to ask in detail their heritage and am going off appearance alone, they all appeared Western Asian and had corresponding accents.

That's not to say I haven't been sexually assaulted and harassed by white men but proportionally I think it is fair to say there are some cultural problems which need addressing.

Until it is acknowledged that there are pockets within communities where it's acceptable to treat women like this, there's going to be plenty of material to stir up racial tension and people are going to feel angry.

The sentencing remarks are there for anyone to read on 'juduciary'.
The fact is he raped her and also sexually assaulted her (put his penis in her mouth).
Seven years is not enough in my book.

The fact that a male judge has made comments dismissing the suffering of a female victim that almost mirror the ones made by another male judge nearly four decades ago means they haven't changed anywhere near enough.

There’s enough female politicians over the years that could have changed the rules over the deportation of convicted sex criminals. They could have made deportation mandatory but they didn’t bother 🥲
You’ve even had female Prime Ministers in the UK ffs.

Have a cursory google and there are a truly HORRIFYING number of cases where asylum seekers have raped children and women and have not been deported. In some cases they claim their rape conviction would make it ‘too unsafe’ for them back in their home country.

It’s unbelievable.

www.thesun.co.uk/news/27455937/child-rapist-not-deported-mental-health/

Things have changed. That’s one of the reasons the Judge in this case had guidelines to follow, not his own whims.

‘Could’ be deported

www.itv.com/news/central/2025-07-24/asylum-seeker-who-raped-12-year-old-after-offering-crisps-could-be-deported

It’s not compulsory for rapists to be deported after serving their term, or for previously convicted rapists arriving here to be automatically refused asylum. They’re only looking to bring that in as a rule now, and many are still here. Unbelievable I know

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvg7q0e77exo.amp

Or… what actually happens in reality which is that he serves his sentence in a uk prison and gets deported when it’s completed?!?

But unless he’s imprisoned for life, which rape generally isn’t, he will eventually be ‘out’ on British streets won’t he?

You can’t have contributory negligence in criminal cases. Was it a civil prosecution?

Phew.

Much more “I know what you did last summer. Oh, yes, I know. LOLZ” and I’d have cracked.

I do remember that. Also, the time that a judge let a rapist off with a fine because the victim has shown 'contributory negligence' by hitchhiking in a remote area. Awful.

For those who think loads of us condone rape, if you look at the vote here, 97% think the OP is NBU.

Does anyone remember Jill Saward? In the 1980s she was gang raped in her own home by a group of robbers when they went to trial the judge (a man, unsurprisingly) dismissed her ordeal as not being so bad and gave them harsher sentences for robbery than rape.

It was outrageous then and it is now but the one thing I always believed was that it was a different time and that the world has moved on and evolved. Basically it wouldn't happen now. Obviously I was wrong.

I see the ACKSHUALLY crowd are still here digging themselves deeper and deeper and frothing at the mouth that I know what they are 😅😂

Actually (but not ACKSHUALLY ) it's not just me. Everyone knows what you are. 😘

And nah, I won't bother my arse to respond to you this time either. I see you. I see you very well.