To be absolutely sick of excuses being made for men's disgusting sexual behaviour? Trigfer warning. Hugh Edwards sentencing.

[UCConfuseMe]

Just read that Hugh Edwards ahs been given a suspended sentence.

And if course it's not his fault. He had a mean Daddy and some mental health issues and some bad things going on in his life, poor lamb.

All that made him say 'amazing' when sent photos of children as young as 7 being molested.

Having a rough time and a strict father doesn't make you a fucking paedophile!!!

Take responsibility for your predatory and vile behaviour!!

We can't just start exterminating people, however abhorrent their crimes are.

Also - people are being imprisoned now for hurtful tweets. You’d think that hurtful tweets would be more common than paedophilic activity, wouldn’t you? Surely?

But apparently that’s not the thing threatening to have prisons overflowing - no, that’s only the really really common everyday stuff like creating/consuming child abuse images.

Something doesn’t add up and I’m just sick to death of all this. I couldn’t give two hoots if Edwards had a tough childhood. There is nothing on this earth that can make me feel sympathy for someone who does what he has done.

There is a purpose of sending him to prison and that is to take away his freedom for a period of time

he can go on any number of courses, work with any number of professionals in monitoring him (its limited what can be done) and working to change his behaviour (sexual offenders do not change) he has been part of the problem for causing many children life long harm

we are far too soft of such offenders and its time that changed so what if he was jailed and other people have not been for similar offences, it has to change

He's a nonce and he should be locked up permanently. Funny how his abusive father and his mental health issues never surfaced when he was earning a ridiculous amount of money and abusing.

Plenty of us had abusive childhoods and/or mental health issues and we don't do that. My GGF nearly lost his life in WWI and was permanently traumatised. He didn't abuse.

What about the victims? What does this say to them and other current victims? There is no justice.

@YellowphantGrey yes because there are women complicit in some of these crimes. Everyone involved should be punished right??

Exactly. He's already been punished many times over and that will continue for the rest of his life. It's enough.

@ClockwiseHoneysuckle

Is it enough for the abused children? Is any punishment enough for the rape & sexual abuse of little children? Really? You think losing your job, living with your mum and having people know you're a dirty evil cunt is punishment enough for what they do to those babies and children?

Thank you, and I feel the same about yours! This entire thread screams out just how little understanding there is about the justice system in this country. We are never going to get any sort of reasonable or meaningful reform when people think this way and of course, everyone becomes an expert when high profile stories pop up.

You're being extremely patronising and making a lot of assumptions about other posters.

Ok?

Maybe you are both so forgiving and blasé about it because you're both desensitised to abhorrent behaviour

Whether you like it or not, there are a lot of angry mothers (potentially fathers) on here that are outraged at how people so easily make the criminal the victim, evenmoreso if they are male.

We are allowed to be outraged and be angry and we don't need monitoring by "professionals" for showing this, given that it involves children and we definitely don't need telling that we are out of order.

Why can't we be angry on this thread at the fact there is a paedophile who has avoided a custodial sentence and refused to own his actions but has blamed every possible mitigating circumstance?

Respectfully, I disagree.
The purpose would be not only appropriate punishment for HE but a deterrant to other pedophiles. The images were Category A. That is penetration. Abuse also involving animals. Sadism. The children involved were as young as 7 years old.
Both criminals should have had more appropriate sentences.

I'm not sure what people on this thread are hindering and how but what reform are you asking for?

So many people have difficult childhoods who do not turn into scum like these two men.

At some point you have to leave your crap childhood where it is and start to take responsibilities and actions for yourself as an adult. MH is a terrible thing to live with but most can control it so they can be functional adults who operate witin the bounds of our society and law. Using MH and pisspoor childhoods as an excuse for criminality for fully grown adults over the age of 25 who otherwise managed to have a family life and a good job is a disgrace. It is just that a rotten excuse.

Why do children always come last in the law?

Just been talking to my Mum about it and we are both raging too.

A neighbours son got a suspended sentence for this shit. Reading the defence who claimed that the dependent wasn't getting sex from his wife made me want to puke. That doesn't mean you go looking at kids.

Of course he was also depressed yada yada and risk of taking his own life.

It's like abusers bingo. They all say the same shit. It shouldn't matter. Their 'excuses' should have no bearing on sentencing. All abusive men threaten suicide. They know what they are doing.

I guess it's good that they do publish their pathetic excuses. At least it confirms what cowardly, entitled narcissists they are.

He can't remember some of the images due to his mental state at the time my arse. Held down a high powered job though.

My friend recently called HE a "silly man" (WTF?!) No. He's a depraved, dangerous, manipulative sexual deviant.

How many 'mothers' turned a blind eye to their children's abuse?

It’s often impossible to ‘prove’ childhood abuse, especially if it didn’t result in a conviction, but a mental health diagnosis can easily be verified.

Probation services are stretched. I am not going to be surprised if the next time we here of him he is in Thailand or Vietnam following the lead of Gary Giltter.

Mumsnet should be well versed in what happens when a powerful lobby group starts moving around behind the scenes to promote and push their agenda.

This is no different. They are at the top of the legal system, the courts and the police. They are in the houses of Parliament and Lords.

The answer for this is the same thing that toppled the trans lobby. Sunlight.

But people are too screamish when it comes to child rape and sexual exploitation.

And a lot more prison officers. There's a recruitment crisis now.

Disgusting excuse for a man. Playing the "I don't remember looking at the images" card!!
The evidence is pretty conclusive. Not really amazed he got a suspended sentence though - sad sign of the times.
Just 😡

I don't understand the weird responses on this thread. People claiming to work 'in the system' seem to have some strange, robotic stance that people are not permitted to be outraged about an heinous crime.

Yes, the sentence was within guidelines and a harsher sentence was not necessarily possible. AND it's also completely possible to think that the guidelines are inappropriate for offences against children (and to question that from a feminist/child protection perspective).

Equally, there may not be enough space in prisons BUT THAT IS A PROBLEM. Not just 'oh well, computer says no this time'.

So many people also missing the point that punishment is also the role of prison - not just rehabilitation and risk reduction - PUNISHMENT. And the faux outrage at suspended sentences not being deterrents - of course they're not! You think a suspended sentence is as much of a deterrent as 5 year straight to jail sentence?!

It's a disgrace. Those poor children have been let down. Makes me feel sick.

The question is how many parents turned a bline eye to their childrens abuse.

It's not just on mothers to protect their children, fathers come into this as well.

Wtaf is your agenda?!

Castration...?

(I'm only half joking)