To think the BBC just mispresented baby Preston's killer (and in way that was favourable to the killer) ?

And I think if they didn't have or show previous interest in young children, then you would need to look at what they did in this case. Obviously, horrendous but what it just another form of abuse to them and not necessarily getting sexual satisfaction from it as such.

Yes, I heard that on the radio and thought it was an odd take... hundreds of women come to this site asking for advice, overwhelmed and stressed by childcare, and I've never heard one say 'I need help with my stress or I'm going to sexually abuse this child...'. 😕

But I think one would have to see the whole of the Judge's summing up to know if that was his take, or whether the BBC cherry-picked it...

Huh? They've sexually abused a baby. What more evidence do we need? We all struggle with parenting at times. We all lose our rag and shout at our kids on occasion (then feel incredibly guilty). The vast majority of people struggling with parenting don't sexually abuse their children. Only fucked up paedos do that.

I'm with you, OP. Anyone portraying these foul individuals with even the smallest amount of empathy are a disgrace.

I assume if it wasn't stated in court then you have to be careful how it is reported. It isn't a legal term as far as I am aware

They could have given the baby back if they were struggling, adoptions do break down sometimes and it doesn't end in paedophilia and murder. The judge would probably have made different comments had the adoptive dad been a binman not a teacher.

Hung
Drawn
Quartered.
Nothing less is justice.
Imo

That’s not what was said though, nor is it a response to you claiming the motivation to adopt in the first place was to sexually abuse the child, there is nothing to back that up from the investigation.

People struggling with parenthood and frustration shout at them , hit them, shake them, punch them. all of which are abusve and can lead to death. It is unjustified but is an extreme version of what might be deemed "normal" behavior.

Reacting to the pressures of parenthood by sexually abusing is something else entirely. Its completely abnormal and pathological and is a pre existing tendency. Its not somethibng that "develops" from nowhere in response to your baby being a poor sleeper.

That bloody judge needs looking at very closely if he thinks it is

I head that too... shocking quote from the judge.

Totally agree

This x 100

I just listened to the headlines on BBC iPlayer and yes, the intro was clear. Danny Savage was then asked to comment on what else Justice Turner had to say. And that made it clear Varley’s previous good character was used as a facade to hide the abuse.

In the shorter headline on Radio 4 it was truncated badly.

I only heard the report on the Today programme earlier this morning, and I thought they were being INCREDIBLY careful not mention either the words "paedophile" or "homosexual." They really skirted around it.

I suppose I can see why - it wasn't not long ago that anti-gay bigotry was phrased in the "All gay men are paedophiles" sort of prejudice.

But still ... this man is gay and he is a paedophile.

The TV news said the judge said injuries were inflicted for the men's own sexual gratification. And that his previous good behaviour lead to the abuse being overlooked. That's pretty clear that the judge is not okay with either of those facts. And what else can you say if there was no evidence previously that the men had these tendencies. Or at least that hasn't been presented in court.

Millions of parents care for their children in many many challenging situations without ever thinking of harming or sexually abusing them in any way. What possessed the judge to mention how hard parenting can be, in this very harrowing case?

I read the Guardian article about this case and felt that it too emphasised the fact that the two men struggled to cope with the demands of parenting.
l agree with the OP that they were motivated to carry out this heinous crime by paedophilia, not because couldn’t cope with looking after a young baby.
It would be appear that a number of media outlets have minimised the sexual abuse as a motive for the crime.

Was this World at One on Radio 4? I listened to that and didn't have the same impression

1. It was noted that he had told a friend he was finding parenting difficult.
2. It was also noted that most/all parents find parenting difficult and don't do what they did.

What do you want them to do, not report fully?

You just can’t claim someone’s motivation without proof. Thats the whole point of a trial.

These people did disgusting things and have rightly been punished with the full weight of the law.
Not sure why you keep embellishing the details as though you have more information than what was presented at trial though.

I can see why both the prosecution and the defence would use the narrative which you find 'misrepresenting'. Just because you disagree with it doesn't mean it wasn't used in court to explain what happened or to try to excuse it. Presumably that's why the judge referred to it.