In saying 30 years is not enough?

There are certain crimes for which attempts to rehabilitate will never work. And attacks on children are one of those crimes. There is no ‘I served my time’. They are simply on a countdown until they have an opportunity to destroy another child’s life. I don’t agree with the death sentence; mostly because of the increased risk to victims but also because I think they should be laying awake in their cells at night, worrying about what’s coming next. I want them to be frightened for every minute of their sentence.

What I do think should happen is a complete overhaul of the justice system, increasing sentences as well as some serious money being poured into police resources to stop these monsters and probation services to keep a really close eye on them after conviction and/release. No getting off with a suspended sentence for possessing images of CSA. Serious sentences, indefinite probation, ongoing chemical castration treatment if they are released.

I also think that legislation around how many members of staff should be in the room when changing children in nurseries etc needs to be introduced or seriously tightened up. If flags are raised (in any professional setting) and you ignore them, then there needs to be legal repercussions for that. And I would like to see the police and NSPCC going into schools more than they are. Anyone who is involved with any attempt to reframe these monsters as the horrific Minor Attracted Person needs to have a visit from police, just making it very clear that they are on their radar.

I also want to get rid of this sneering idiocy that some people exhibit; ‘Oh, you’re one of those people who think there’s a paedophile on every street corner’. Well there fucking is a paedophile on every street corner. And if you don’t understand that, then you’ve been bloody lucky and you’re being frighteningly naive.

@cocopopseverydayit makes me want to scream.

I do not understand how ANY person working with vulnerable children or adults can be ignored when raising concerns, or indeed how “managers” can ignore. They need to be facing criminal charges and banned from ever working with children again.

This despicable crime should never have happened but those who turned a blind eye are just as culpable and allowed it to continue.

Im getting angry over his despicable crime, and the fact that history always repeats itself, and that there is even a possibility he could be released early, which there is.

You've just stated our home secretary and CJS royally fucked up that case - guess what? They do it all the time! It was not the case they fucked that case up and never fucked another case up ever again. Excuse me for not having faith in a criminal 'justice' system that would glady ship trash like this out of prison and back onto the streets in the name of saving money. What its all about at the end of the day.

Exactly! How was it this man was left alone with any child?! Particularly after so many red flags had been raised already about him. The guy had holes in the crotch of his trousers FFS!! I am literally astounded that something as horrific as this has happened when we are supposed have such a robust safeguarding process in place these days.

A similar criminal in Scotland got a light sentence for his first offence. When he raped a disabled woman, he was placed in a facility for the criminally insane. In effect, he's in prison for life.

I agree with this. Child abusers are really looked down on my prisoners and often attacked. They are normally kept separate from other inmates where possible”

@wishingonastar101THIS. We need to be SHOUTING about this. I mean seriously, WHY and HOW was this allowed to happen.

where have child welfare, accountability, team work, protective measures gone.

this is not one bloody incident.

it’s a catalogue of behaviour in a care setting.

There are many people who should be held accountable here.

it’s staggering. I work in a small early years setting. Even taking a child to the toilet is recorded and done in a room off the main room with multiple care givers in and out. I mean FFS I can’t even go to the toilet.

people need to take more responsibility for what’s going on around them.

Bennett lived in one of the villages local to where we live. I must admit that I did some quick calculations to work out if DS or any other children we know may have come into contact with him if he's worked in other similar settings. Luckily my DS is too old to have been at nursery during what would have been the 12-14 years since Bennett started his working life.

I feel that perpetrators of crime towards children should have a victorian prison experience- damp cells, minimal access to light and minimal food.

Venables was released after 8 years because our home secretary and criminal justice system royally fucked up in how they managed the trial.

But this chap isn't Venables. So yes you're getting angry over something that hasn't happened.

It’s visceral isn’t it ?The feeling of horror at crimes so heinous they are outside the comprehension of most of us; we want the perpetrator to be punished in as unpleasant a way as possible.

However, for the reasons well-articulated above, we don’t have the death penalty here, and I agree with that.

Prison is not a soft option and even among segregated prisoners there is a hierarchy, or what could be described as a lowarchy which will mean prisoners like Nathan Bennett will be considered the lowest of the low. If he has any understanding of this, he will be in continual fear of anything from his food being tampered with to the possibility of being assaulted or killed. Recent events have shown prisoners are not completely safe in prison but that’s a different debate.

Depending on where he is incarcerated, he may have to spend up to 23 hours a day in his cell on his own. Depending on his mental state he may be subject to increased surveillance.

I don’t think the Judge’s sentencing remarks have been published yet and I will be interested to see the Judge’s ‘calculations’. My visceral feeling is a life sentence would be appropriate, but the guidelines don’t allow for that. The issue between the physical and psychological taking of life is, again, another debate.

It is possible the CPS may appeal his sentence.

Only happened in their heads? Jon Venables released just 8 years after the torture and murder of a toddler. He then went on to commit more vile acts against children. The very reason why children are tried as adults from the age of 10, and he was released early.

This is one of many cases where highly dangerous criminals were released early for their heinous crimes. It happens all the time. People have far too much faith in the CJS, and until you've been thoroughly let down by them, you will never understand the outrage.

People live in blissful ignorance thinking a sentence is handed out and thats that, they serve their time and justice served (and often call other people ignorant for not being satisfied with that(!)). It really isnt, and they rarely serve a whole sentence.

Irrespective of whether this monster serves 30 years or not, if he makes it out alive, he will do it again. True paedophilia is a mental Illness, they always do it again. People want to say capital punishment isnt a deterrent, but dont want discuss that clearly our pathetic justice system isnt either, they know they might be handed a big sentence, but who cares? They'll likely get released early and they know that.

True but on the other hand if he had the sheer audacity to commit these offences firstly in plain sight but also knowing he was being watched on CCTV is extremely chilling and absolutely points to the possibility of many other unrecorded offences, as he clearly took every opportunity he could.

I totally agree, any parent who's child had anything to do with that man must be fear ridden. As the judge said, he was every parents worst nightmare so if there any way this could have been stopped, those people need to be held accountable too as turning a blind eye to any kind of safeguarding concerns that may have been raised about him but ignored is a crime in itself!

Says who? He would be eligible for a parole hearing after serving 2 thirds of his sentence. It doesn't mean he'd be successful. It isn't a decision made individually, it's made as a panel. For someone in his case he'd have criteria that has to be met before he could even be considered, and the criteria is almost always nigh on impossible to achieve.

People get so easily outraged by things that have only happened in their heads.

It doesn't necessarily mean anything happened elsewhere but imagine knowing your son was at a nursery he'd worked previously. You'd turn yourself inside else with fear over what might have happened. Same as for the other parents in this nursery. The fear of who and what, it must be agony never knowing for sure

If they dont think they will get caught, then why would they kill their victim out of fear of capital punishment?

Her point was basically if a rapist is going to rape someone, they think fuck it, im gonna get caught anyway, I might as well kill them.

But now harsher punishments are not a deterrent because criminals dont think they will get caught? In which case, if capital punishment was legalised, criminals wouldnt commit murder as well as rape, because they don't believe they will be caught anyway.

This is why in my last comment I said I think it can go either way.

I'd like to add i think this nursery should be held accountable as well. I thought it was universally true that 2 people had to present when changing nursery children, and if they failed to employ this measure they should also be held accountable. I agree with surveillance and other people being there to witness crimes is the biggest deterrent, and if the nursery had bothered to ensure this safety measure was being practiced, its likely none of this would of happened in the first place.

Because 30 years when you're 30 means still getting out by at least 60, having chance to live your life and enjoy your freedom having committed one of the most disgusting crimes in existence, repeatedly, to numerous children.

Concurrent sentences so 30 years per kid... That would do it

People like this often get killed in prison. I used to work in one.

Of course no one is thinking this man has been falsely accused and convicted but miscarriages of justice do happen. There is a very recent case, whose name escapes me, of a man spending many years in prison for rape before it was established that he didn't do it and he has been released. Another man is currently being tried for the offence.

If the convicted man had been sentenced to death, the state would have killed an innocent man

I'm not sure I agree that a 30 year sentence equates to getting off scot free.

I also don't agree with the death penalty. And chemical castration doesn't stop someone offending either. It can help to reduce the likelihood of re-offending when part of a holistic treatment plan but it absolutely isn't a fail safe.

But people are living in an absolute fantasy world if they think everyone who commits awful crimes against children is targeted in prison.

So you think this man has been falsely accused and that he’s innocent?

Obviously you would not put someone to death unless there was actual physical evidence like in this case and chemical castration is temporary.

She is arguing that it's not a deterrent, because that's what the evidence shows. Harsher punishments are generally speaking not a deterrent because the majority of criminals don't think they will get caught!

Because rape is not murder

Yes, rape can have lifelong consequences but it is not the same thing as murder and the total end of life

If murderers and rapists get exactly the same sentence, there’s an argument that rapists will go on to murder more victims as there’s less of a deterrent for them to not escalate their crimes.

I’m not excusing either crime, but I do see murder & rape, as an escalation of rape.

Honestly i didn't understand it cos it was just one big waffle full of insults tbh. I understand that point completely, but i think If they know they're going to be murdered if they were to rape someone, they would just feel less inclined to rape them, and find it harder to do so. Not only have they then raped someone, but also have to cover up a murder, i just dont see how she is arguing this is no way a deterrent. I think it can go either way, though. In addition, being the lowest form of scum and raping children is often done because they know they can't tell anyone regardless, so makes little difference there.

But thanks for having the intellect to make a point without adding an insult in every 2 lines, I appreciate it and was able to receive and understand your perspective adequately.

And when it turns out, as in a recent case, that the rapist was innocent - what then?
Would you think the same if your son was convicted of rape?