Community sentence for rape of a 13 year old

THIS

Another thing to 'thank' Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP for

I'd agree. Sexual violence against women and girls is being normalised in Scotland. Those who offend are unlikely to go to court and if they do so unlikely to get convicted and if they do they get a slap on the wrist. A colleagues daughter was raped in school. The boy wasn't even expelled, so she saw him everyday, and the other girls were awful to her, calling her names, saying she was a liar. Poor girl was pulled out to be homeschooled as she was suicidal.

😮

Females bodies matter

This is disgusting.
What a surprise from a society increasingly willing to throw female rights down the toilet and allow violence against females to avoid offending some violent nasty angry males.

BellaAmorosa

while this particular crime is not, it is another example of Scotland’s disgusting treatment of women in general as shown by their behaviour towards a trans rapist until the public outcry.

please don’t police what other women say on here.

WTF? He RAPES a 13 year old and doesn't get a day in jail.

No.

This is utterly wrong.

Scotland is no land for women.

What is wrong with people? Is misogyny so profoundly ingrained? Don't some of these people have daughters?

@FloatingRodger Yes, the defendant is planning to appeal the sentence (and possibly the conviction, it’s not clear). The Crown can also appeal the sentence if it’s thought to be too lenient.

@Seriouslythoughwhatthehell I thought this as well, that it would turn out to be a relationship where practically the girl had consented to sex but legally she couldn’t. Horrified to find out the truth.

This is absolutely appalling.

Also:
"Donald Findlay KC, defending, told the court an appeal was planned.
A spokesperson for the Crown Office said: "As with all cases, the Crown will consider the sentence and give consideration to whether it might be unduly lenient.""

Am I confused - does this mean the defendant, ie the rapist, is planning to appeal the sentence?!

Fucking contemptible.

I hope the appeal is successful.

Please withdraw this comment. This is a very serious and disturbing case but it is not a trans issue.

In Scotland a 17 year old can vote in some elections. So perfectly capable of knowing right and wrong.

Given the photo of the convicted offender being published, I can see someone taking action. Dalkeith is not a large place.

Rape is slowly becoming legalised in the de facto sense, i.e., the consequences from raping someone are getting smaller and smaller in the probabilistic sense, even if rape is still a crime in de jure sense, i.e., in the books.

The sentence is a disgrace. I suspect that the community will take matters into its own hands.

What utterly incompetent sentencing. i can see this kind of thing being used for crimes such as theft of damage to property but he raped a child. Just WTAF. I hope this is appealed, it’s appalling.

When I saw headline I assumed this was going to be statutory rape when he was 15 and her 13, perhaps he'd already spent time in prison awaiting trial so that was counted..

But no, it's as completely fucking horrendous as the headline makes it sound.

Agree with others that - quite aside from blatant injustice and failure of deterrence - one of the reasons to have a justice system is to stop people feeling they need to take matters into their own hands and this clearly fails on that front.

I would be very reluctant unless I needed some kind of criminal investigation to support legally keeping someone away from her. I think it’s likely to be far more traumatising for a child (and many adults) to go through the revictimization that the police and courts put rape victims through than to concentrate on counseling and moving on (though I’d possibly seek vengeance some other way).

WTAF?

Surely these guidelines were intended for crimes like theft, moderate drug related crime etc.

I cannot begin to think how her parents are feeling right now (and the poor, poor girl herself, of course).

It feels dangerously like incitement to vigilanteeism.

That.

Rape can destroy a girl or woman's life as well as injure their body. And then some dick will require that they 'reframe their trauma' and access rape support where other men are sitting getting their needs met by being alongside women talking about being raped.

Women and girls don't matter. What an appalling sentence. I hope he gets "community justice" while he is out serving his pathetic sentence.

I’m also a bit shocked that repeated rape of a 13 year old using force would, in the eyes of this judge, warrant a sentence of only 5 years even if the rapist were over 25.

I thought that too. Children should be able to walk in public spaces without being attacked and raped. 5 years is nothing.

All of the above. Appalling.