AIBU to think the judge’s comments in this case are completely inappropriate?

[Lizzie67384]

A male judge stated he thought the rapist was not a ‘dangerous man’ and that the 13 year old victim had ‘not suffered much degree of psychological harm’

The Met press release.

https://news.met.police.uk/news/man-jailed-for-7-years-for-rape-498893

Detective Inspector Donnett Oseni, who led the investigation, said:

“Amini’s attack on this vulnerable girl was predatory and calculated. He has demonstrated himself to be a dangerous sexual offender and this sentence prevents him from harming anyone else.
“I want to commend the victim for her courage in coming forward and reporting this offence to us. I hope today’s verdict will bring her and her family some semblance of closure.”
In August 2024, Amini approached the victim in broad daylight on North End Road in Croydon, persistently tried to engage her in conversation and would not leave her alone when told. He then followed her down North End Road and into an alleyway.
Here, he forcibly kissed her and tried to put a cannabis joint into her mouth. He also told her that he was friends with someone who recently stabbed a person in the area, making the victim scared that he may have a knife. Amini then raped her.
The victim reported the assault to police and received safeguarding and support from specialist officers.
Amini was convicted on Thursday, 1 January following a two-week trial at the same court.

He was found guilty of raping a child!! What other information do you need? He is dangerous and just because there are “specific standards” doesn’t make him any less so.

I honestly despair sometimes - what goes through some people’s heads to think there is anything remotely ok about this? In what parallel universe can a child rapist not be deemed dangerous?

No one here is arguing that he isn’t dangerous in the convential use of the word but the judge is making a legal judgment made using specific criteria. He either meets that already set criteria or he doesn’t. In this case the judge has taken
the facts of the case and compared them to the criteria. If you feel he hasn’t correctly applied the criteria then your local MP’s should be able to direct you in how to find the info to make a complaint.

Thank you for the “advice” - I will continue to fight for the rights of women and girls through my charity work.

Remember - it’s not that long ago that marital rape was not illegal - just because it’s “the law” doesn’t make it ok.

Whether this individual was sentenced to life or waved off on his way, I still suspect some posters’ chief aim is that, as he slots into their victimhood hierarchy, we must look the other way .

In this case it was a stranger accosting a young girl and attacking her. Frankly that’s most females’ worst nightmare. It happened to me (although I managed to flee) decades ago and I am still nervous with a pounding heart in quiet areas.

The ^nothing to see here” attitude is astounding when this is a site for women. And mothers, come to that.

Hi all, can we lay off the slinging of insults, please? It's doing nothing to move the thread forward and if you keep at it, you will be banned.

Please engage respectfully with other posters, even when you strongly disagree.

Do you believe in the rule of law?

He was found guilty of raping a child!! What other information do you need? He is dangerous and just because there are “specific standards” doesn’t make him any less so.

The DM story is misleading as it leads the reader in the title and in the first paragraphs that 1) these are the judge’s personal views and 2) the judge had full / considerable latitude in sentencing according to personal views. It is only in the final section that consideration of the sentencing guidelines is referred to. By that point uncritical readers - if they even get that far - have already formed a view.

The intention is presumably to whip up anger about soft judges and the dire state of our justice system, and going by comments on here and the DM website it has worked. People are attacking the judge.

Being uncomfortable with this manipulation by the media and concerned by how easily people fall for it is a completely separate issue from both the crime itself - which not a single person on here has defended, despite smears to the contrary - and the sentencing guidelines themselves.

It is entirely possible to be appalled by a crime and also think accurate reporting and applying critical thinking to reporting are important. Again, I don’t see how victims are helped by us casting aside reason.

questioning sources is the opposite of "being part of the problem"

The DM might be accurate for once, but if you blindly believe everything that is written, you are the reason why we're in the mess we are in today

"If it's on the internet it must be true" is beyond stupid.

@Yuasa

Why do you keep repeating this phrase “whipped up”?

“The intention is presumably to whip up anger about soft judges and the dire state of our justice system”

People are capable of reading the details of this case from a variety of sources and coming to their own conclusions; perhaps that our justice system is indeed in a dire state, and not fit for purpose. That’s a reasonable opinion. The public can be angry about what they perceive to be the injustice without having been ‘whipped’ into it.

The degree of psychological harm the girl suffered directly relates to the sentencing guidelines he has to follow.

The idea that being raped as a child isn't massive psychological harm is gobsmacking. I expect that if the judge was raped by a man bigger and stronger than him he wouldn't just shrug it off!

Vase - what you are describing (understanding that the judge is applying guidelines, disagreeing with those guidelines and thinking this demonstrates a poor justice system) is entirely logical.

That’s not what is being questioned here. The DM is painting a picture of a system where judges can do as they please and what they please is to let rapists off leniently and downplay their crimes. That’s the whipping up bit. Readers are accepting that and calling for the judge to be removed from the bench and have their hard drive checked. You wouldn’t be directing your ire against the judge personally if you thought they were constrained in their sentencing - makes no sense. So, I’d say that constitutes these readers having been pretty well whipped up!

So help me out here. Using your example, which rape victim would be the equivalent of the crown jewels and which the loaf of bread? Who's fair game?

I'm guessing that poor girls from Rotherham and the like are the latter.....

what a deeply offensive post. I have reported it.

Fair enough but I think that you have missed the point

The judge is a twat. But I'm sure someone will be along to agree with him, saying the rapists doesn't understand our laws, rape and under age sex is part of his culture, and we're all bigoted racists for wanting this child rapists convicted.

Do you believe in the rule of law?

I would be happy if each case was dealt with on its own individual merits.

You can apply to the General Attorney to have the sentence reviewed, takes 5 mins and is very easy

There is a whole book called “Noise” which is the word used for the “variability of judgements that should be identical’. Judges all have the same guidelines but their judgements are not all the same and their remarks should be a window into why. It is reasonable to comment on disagreements with the reasoning behind these decisions, if only in the interest of free speech.

The DM may have an interest in whipping up public sentiment to the extent of selling more newspapers. Not sure if they want the collapse of the rule of law.

I get nuance, but I really struggle to see any nuance in child rape TBH.

Actually, no, of course, 2 13 year-olds having illegal due to age, but otherwise consensual sex isn't anything like a grown man forcing himself on a 13 year old.

I guess I see no nuance when it comes to adults raping children is what I should say.

I can't see any comparison in anyway similar to bread vs. crown jewels, or terminal patient given lots of morphine vs. bludgeoned to death during a mugging.

Adults raping a child is always very wrong. No wiggle room there.

So I'm from South African background. DV is ignored, rape in marriage is ok. I have friends from Nigeria, Ghana and Zimbabwe. Most women's first sexual contact is as a child, the men aren't prosecuted. To be raped is still seen as shameful, the men aren't blamed. DV isn't even recognised as such. Women are murdered for all sorts of reasons, you have to have male family members who will kick up a fuss and then the police can just decide to ignore what's happened. If you've travelled around Africa, you'll know that you can bribe your way out of trouble. Google child rape victim has tongue cut out, Pakistan/Bangladesh. You haven't seen reports of women having to protest in the streets because a woman has reported a rape and been raped by the police (an unchaste female is fair game)?
The lives of women there doesn't compare with our low conviction rate.

I am well aware of South Africa’s femicide issue but I don’t think that PP was talking about SA.

What is the rape conviction rate in SA?

And if the only example is of ONE child rape victim in Pakistan or Bangladesh (those are two different countries) having their tongue cut out I am not sure it can be claimed be claimed as a cultural norm.

If police rapes attract protests clearly it is not viewed as acceptable and “unchaste women” are not viewed as “fair game”.

And to reiterate: the UK also has a very very loe rape conviction rate.

Absolutely this.

I cannot believe this judge said 'However, I do not think there is sufficient evidence before me to be satisfied that you meet the criteria to be considered a dangerous person.’ . Are they stupid? How much more evidence do they need if a grown men has violently raped a child.

I think some of our judges need to retire or retrain.