Man walks free from court after statutory rape

[AssassinatedBeauty]

Saw this news case today, and am not sure what I think:

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-39305042

I feel that it gives the message that it's ok for men not to worry about the age of girls/women they have sex with if they have reasonable grounds to believe they're 16+.

Come on now Elendon, please just explain what you mean, in plain English, when you've posted;

*Of course the police officers are going to agree that the girl was older than she really was.

All the police agreed she was sixteen. They would do that, wouldn't they?*

I just asked my 15 year old and he says you should answer the question.

Well they all would agree that the person they questioned was 16. That's the answer.

Why would they agree that? That's the question.

So did you care enough about your 15 year old to ask them if they could discern between a 12 year old or a sixteen year old? You obviously seemed very concerned about the 12 year old.

I said the same thing, Nowin

Why aren't you barracking me to answer an obvious question ?

And why does the answer to it seem of more importance than the fact that a 12yo girl was let down by a succession of professional and non professional people....some of which were absolutely in a position to help her ?

I don't know why they would all agree that, they did though.

Perhaps you should ask them?

Okay sure, if you, AnyFucker, are saying "well of course they would say she seemed to be 16", why would they say that?

In my mind, they're saying it because they genuinely, wrongly, assessed her to be older than she was, and they have confirmed that in the proceedings. Is that what you're saying too?

Elendon - thank you for confirming that you're making blind conjecture without knowing why you're even making it. Happy to move on.

I think they ate sticking to their story

And why wouldn't they ?

I think you are banging on about what is actually a red herring. She "looked" 16. No one is denying that.

But she wasn't. She was 12. So she was raped.. .what are your thoughts on that ?

They thought she was old enough to be out after seeing her and speaking to her. They were wrong. They have confirmed that they assessed her wrongly. I don't know why you'd expect them to change their story and say they actually assessed her as 12, when they didn't.

If you think they did a terrible job, fine, but i think its hard to say that without having seen the girl or been privy to the conversation.

And I agree that, whatever happened between the offender meeting the victim and them having sex is irrelevant to whether he is guilty; it is clearly statutory rape. Should the law be changed to allow for under 13s to give legal consent in some cases? No. It's a strict liability offense for a very good reason, to protect children.

I didn't say I expected them to change their story

Some police are fantastic

Some arent as good at their job

Some dont want to add to their workload

Unfortunately all we can go on is that they got her age wrong, for whatever reason

Bottom line 12 and 16 are easy to identify in schools, in your kitchen, at Guides in your safe life. It's dead easy.

On the street, at night, when the girl does not want to be identified it is not so easy. You do your best, you try hard but you make mistakes.

Not on MN oh no! Safe tucked away in our little enclave we KNOW the truth. Well the real world, is dirty, complex, confusing and far from simple. People do their best but it is just not good enough. Police are involved in a conspiracy to corrupt. Ffs.

I'll say it again working with people who do not want to be helped is thankless and when you get it wrong people are happy to point and sneer. People who at 3:30 on a Sunday morning are in their beds.

It's clear that NoWin, Cadnow, Clown and Mousse are all in agreement with a point of view.

I would argue that they would be in agreement with that, wouldn't they.

I don't see why you are being so combative. I am in complete agreenent with your last post

What am I in agreement with? Please enlighten me Elendon.

Mousse how would you identify a rapist? This world being 'dirty, complex and confusing'. You still haven't answered that question.

Answer the question Mousse. How would you identify a rapist?

Identifying a 12 year old is confusing for you.

Elendon To what end? I have no idea what point you are making.

The man raped her. He pled guilty.

My concern now is for the victim who I can guarantee is NOT getting the help and support she needs. Her and hundreds like her.

Elendon your naïveté is astounding. In my world you could not tell the difference between a 12 year old and a 16 year old.

As I have said before if you can tell the difference at 3:30 at night please enlighten us mere mortals who do not have your skills. Mortals being the police, youth workers, social workers, taxi drivers and judges!

It's a simple question.

How would you identify a rapist?

You seem to be able to put forward arguments that it's confusing for someone to identify a 12 year old.

I'm asking you a simple question.

Elendon I repeat, to what end?

The man in question is a rapist. He pled guilty, as he should.

So a 12 year old in a uniform is fine but out at 4am in clothes not a uniform is a different matter. You have answered that question and I thank you for that.

Can you now answer the question as to how someone can identify a rapist?

Victims are easily identified. That's obvious with this thread. It's based solely on the clothes they are wearing and the behaviour of them.

What no one is answering is how we identify rapists?

It's only a simple question in that it can't be answered. Until after the fact I suppose.