What punishment do you think the British legal system would deem appropriate for someone who rapes a 5 year old?

[Mintyy]

I'm not going to link because I saw this in the Daily Mail. But, really, am truly horrified.

There are also 2 age ranges for sexual abuse offenses a child under 13 and those under 16 that distinguishes the differnce in maturity of 'most' children

laurie your posts have not shown one ounce of sympathy for the victim, and an awful lot of sympathy for the rapist

Just in case you don't realise how your posts are reading

Laurie ... in that case most parents of 14 year olds probably are abusive because most parents of 14 year olds will not have been able to prevent them seeing hardcore porn.

I heard a stat earlier (can't remember exactly) but it was something like 85% of children have seen hardcore porn by the time they are 13 or 14...

I looked for the stat earlier but I couldn't find it.

Sardinequeen thats what I was thinking people who think more about the abusers are just as bad in my book and I make no apology for saying that.

Access to abusive images IS a real problem I do get seriously fucked off every time I go into a newsagents with dd (12) and she sees photos on front pages of women in various poses and having lots of flesh revealed. She is an incredibly sensible and mature specimen,and when sex stuff comes up she admirably and authentically rolls her eyes. But it annoys that she has to roll her eyes to 'grade; that stuff out.

Internet images are even more problematic, as they are far more abusive.

An analogy that works for me is the protection of children from hazardous substances in the home. I'd wonder if prosecutions can be justified IF it can be shown that children have accessed abusive images on line regularly, and what steps the parents have taken to prevent this from happening.

It doesn't matter if he accessed it 'himself' - it is up to the parents to prevent it - that's why we have parents at 14

You don't give them a blackberry as you can't put parental controls on, the phone you do get them you set up parental controls, same with computers in the house. The ones at school and the library already have them.

As to them accessing it 'somewhere else' - then you supervise, check where there going, check with the parents where their going.

All the shit you're supposed to do as parents.

Attend e safety talks at school, get guidance from the school or cahms, talk to your children about sex and relationship.

In short, we do our fucking job.

Children don't orally rape a child in isolation - they do this because of poor boundaries and because someone hasn't done their job properly.

So why is there such resistance to making internet porn an opt-in option rather than an opt-out one?

SQ - I have read all of those things from the reporting of it. Also, I am pretty sure a paper like the DM won't be making any effort on a full picture - they have a pitch-fork audience to satisfy.

But, Laurie, surely you understand that thousands of 14 year olds have seen hardcore porn by now?

Laurie plenty grow up with extremely strict boundaries they still go on to abuse children whilst still very young themselves don't tar them all with its the parents fault some are born evil

Why is there a school of thought out there that thinks castration will somehow cure rapists?

I would not have wanted to be judge or jury in a case like this, there is so much more to this case than the information that is in the public domain.

Can you link please Pan?

i could only find teh DM article when i googled earlier.

And thats talking from personal experience of both

I don't care how my posts are coming across - I actually work with rape and victims of sexual abuse. And both of these children are victims.

One thing I know is that the 5 year old is more likely to be able to access help than the 14 year old. That is a total tragedy, we need as a society to work and intervene for both.

Pan: what is pitchfork about expecting a 14 year old to be punished for the rape of a 5 year old?

laurie you think you can stop your child looking at porn if they really want to?

You obviosuly weren't a very devious child.

Fgs stop with the excuses, yes parents should safe guard their child against porn but porn does not lead to rape.
The child was FIVE, he was NINE years older, he is a peadophile.

Plus you cant be with your 14yo 24/7

Mintyy - I think it's because it is massively difficult to decipher what is abusive and what is educational, based on images shown. IT gets really techy and complicated,and I am now at my boundary of knowledge about it.

it has been a topic in geek section for a while and I get some of it but some just glides gracefully over my head.

No one is born 'evil' - that's not even a medical term!

Some children have under developed brain function that may be a contributing factor in sociopathy but studies are still relatively new.

Glad your not my counseller with that attitude

If he'd have been an adult he'd have got under 7 years? That, as well, is fucked up

Yes pumpkin, sexual abuse (exposing children to pornography) is absolutely a contributing factor in normalising deviant sexual behaviour.

Laurie with all due respect I'm a survivor of abuse my brother was born evil and devious