Marcus Fakana sentenced to a year in prison

[Zippedydodah]

www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles]]]]
I cannot believe that this lad is going to spend a year in prison- yes, I know that’s the law there, he should have known better etc, etc
I hope that the girl’s mother is ashamed of her actions.
I don’t want to think what the impact will be on Marcus 😥

No I read it correctly.

My phone just chose to change what I wrote!

Then I think you're confused on the case - he was accused of "forcible rape" but was found not guilty of that.

Accused by the mother (and I am clear what her reasons were) but not by her daughter.

But the messages and video evidence show a consensual relationship.

Thus I think the reframing as this being a story about rape when it is actually about AOC is disingenuous.

He was not found “not guilty” of forcible rape as that was never a charge against him and not what he faced in court. The DM article pasted on that are not sure if that was ever a claim or a mistranslation in the original police documents but the only think he faced in court was the age of consent charge.

It was the mother who caused the charge to be filed but I don't know if we can say with total confidence what the girl told her mother (perhaps upon the mother's initial discovery of the morning after pill in the girl's luggage).

Which makes me think it’s nonsense

I see, it's hard to tell, given the unclear reporting, but perhaps he was cleared of forcible rape (based on the claim made by the girl's mother) in the investigation stage but before a hearing.

But if you were facing a charge of sex with a minor on one occasion, arguing "it was 3 occasions, actually" doesn't seem like the strongest defence.

I very much get the impression that Marcus has been honest - he admitted knowing that she was not yet 18, for example.

Yes all of this and I was quoting what others were saying about him - (and disagreeing with the phrases used!).

Actually I take back what I originally wrote as it is not clear the mother made the accusation of rape. It has been said it’s not clear whether that was an accusation or a police mistranslation of the complaint.

It is not clear whether the accusation of rape originally came from the girl’s mother or was due to a misunderstanding or mistranslation by police officers, but the term ‘raped by force’ in Arabic appeared on the initial police report

We do know the same police document reports the mother confronting her daughter about her birth control pills and phone exchange with Farkana and she was informed she had met with him and had sex multiple times over her time in Dubai.

The mother, in her late 30s, told the Dubai authorities that she found the birth control pills by chance in her daughter’s belongings, according to the document.

The court heard from the prosecutor: ‘When she asked her about the pills, her daughter told her that she got to know the accused and that she had sex with him several times.’

While I am fully aware he broke the law, I don’t think that breaking of the law is enough to describe him as a [predatory] rapist.

And it does not appear that there is anything properly suggesting that is what he was arrested for or faced court over.

What is sad and disturbing is the way the case proceeded with no actual presentation in court by an alleged victim or alleged defendant. It is disturbing to think that he could have faced 20 years in jail without the court ever hearing from a potential accuser (although in this case there isn’t one really. The girl has said nothing.)

I think you and I have consistently been in broad agreement - but there are a few gaps here and there as we don't have access to the full and reliable reporting that we'd have in a UK-based case.

The other thing that is sad and disturbing is that it could have been seen as a misdemeanour (which imo is the correct way of looking at it) but due to errors in the original file it was treated more seriously. I get him not wanting to risk a long sentence by appealing but imo it was worth the risk.

Although it’s easy for me to take that stance.

It’s also EXTREMELY weird that the fact he was originally recorded as Pakistani means it was treated more seriously. Why would that be relevant.

I think there maybe inaccuracies in a police report that also makes him 19 and Pakistani but what has been consistent is that this has been about age of consent and that is ultimately what he pled guilty to.

Unless there is anything from an actual complainant who was there (so the girl) I see no basis to referring to him as a rapist unless people are using that because in Dubai she could not consent. And that’s just silly.

The other thing that is sad and disturbing is that it could have been seen as a misdemeanour
That's something I'd really like to see some good sources for, but cannot find any.

Can you explain how he is a victim of racism please?

Those errors should not be accepted by Starmer and Lammy. They need to bring this poor boy home.

I am not sure I can tbh. Its abit like 'can you explain why the sky is blue'.

I'm curious too to know how some posters are so convinced that MF is a victim of racism as opposed to the victim of an autocratic, religious nutter (the girl's mother) who would have gone tonto on ANY boy of any race or colour who had pre-marital sex with her daughter.

Do you know the family personally?

I didn't initially post anything about his age, you and many others did, you raised the issue he maybe older than the 2 months or so stated by others (paraphrasing). I read your comment, I replied to your comment. We are just going round in circles here. I could have replied to anyone but I replied to you. The point I made remains the same, whether the age difference is 1 month , two months or a year - there is very little difference in their age! That is the point being made and it still remains relevant.

I’ve never suggested MF is a sexual predator. He was a normal teen with a teen gf. I remember those days and there was a bigger gap between me and my bfs in my teens.
Don’t take my comment out of context. It was a reply to another and differing cultures do have differing attitudes. I never said I agreed with it. Just pointed out a fact.

And had they been the same age, there’d be no problem. We have an age 18 limit for drinking and smoking . They have an age 18 for sex. USA has age 21 for drinking. 18 for sex, I think. It’s certainly older than ours.

We can’t go abroad and expect everyone to accept our versions of what’s right. They are as convinced they are right as we are. But we don’t rule the world.
I hope he gets home soon, that it’s dropped. If the mother had not complained, nothing would have been said or done, but authorities always feel they must act if something is brought to their attention, even if they’d prefer to ignore it.
I feel sorry for him..and the girl, too. The mother is nasty and vindictive.

coloured

JFC really

And there it is. Using an outdated term considered racist by black people. Absolutely no one under the age of about 80 who doesn’t have bigoted views would use the word ‘coloured’

You give yourself away with every post