Judge is sad paedophile won't be able to keep his job as a midwife

[PurgatoryOfPotholes]

A man was found to have hundreds of child abuse images, along with porn showing strangulation, and images showing sexual abuse of animals. He escaped a custodial sentence after his partner stood by him and wrote a letter to the judge defending him.

So far, not unusual.

But this bit is. Judge's comments:
'This is a real tragedy for so many people,' he said.

'You qualified as a midwife and will never be able to work in this role again.

It is a shame, not just for yourself but for the community as a whole as I understand there is a desperate shortage of midwives.'

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9989159/amp/Male-midwife-39-caught-stash-400-indecent-images-children.html

This judge thinks potential patients (women and newborn babies) are losing out on this man's services? The tragedy is that he was not caught sooner, and I feel very sorry for all women treated by him before now. If they had had an informed choice in the matter, they would not have wanted a man who masturbated to the torture of children, doing the new baby checks on their babies.

Does anyone know if the CPS plan to progress a review to seek a custodial sentence?

@Ereshkigalangcleg

I will always be highly suspicious of any man that chooses to work with vulnerable woman and children.

Same here.

Yep. Same. The male ob-Gyn I had was notorious for being a misogynist arsehole.

A man who likes watching animals in pain and seeing torture did not enter a profession where he would get to see vulnerable women in pain to help or support them. Imagine knowing that someone who coached you through pain was probably enjoying it!! I think his motives for his career haven’t even been considered by the judge. Imagine the women who’s babies have been delivered by this man and how they must be feeling and the worry that he may have had access the their babies.
And for his disgusting parter, I hope she is no longer able to work with these vulnerable women and children any longer, she clearly lacks the moral code needed for the job she does. I would not want her around me or my baby.

Imagine being one of the women that had him as a midwife. When men started training as midwifes and nursery nurses I naively gave them the benefit of the doubt. But in both professions despite the relatively tiny number of men there have been multiple convictions for sex crimes. I read this yesterday and it made me feel sick that he would have been with women in labour and performing intimate examinations. I don’t think men can every understand how very vulnerable you are when pregnant and in labour.

It is time that men working in professions where they have access to vulnerable children and women automatically get a custodial sentence for sex crimes.

A PP I can’t find now said she was going to make a safeguarding referral regarding the partner. I would also like to do this. It looks as thought the local authority is Wandsworth and they have an online portal and email address for their MASH hub. Can anyone confirm that this is the correct local authority? Hopefully it will atleast flag up her behaviour if it isn’t already being monitored

I will always be highly suspicious of any man that chooses to work with vulnerable woman and children.

That's not very fair. Many men will choose this work for the right reasons. Can men not feel a straightforward desire to support people, some of whom are female, in difficult circumstances?
Many friends of mine have had male midwives and couldn't speak highly enough of them.

Fuck off to that judge. The only tragedy is that he was allowed near woman and babies in the first place.

No mother wants the first person to touch her baby turn out to be a paedophile.

Labour and birth are a time of incredible vulnerability for woman and babies, and this man should never be allowed anywhere near them.

@IntermittentParps

I will always be highly suspicious of any man that chooses to work with vulnerable woman and children.

That's not very fair. Many men will choose this work for the right reasons. Can men not feel a straightforward desire to support people, some of whom are female, in difficult circumstances?
Many friends of mine have had male midwives and couldn't speak highly enough of them.

I get where the that poster who said that is coming from. And as sure as hell some one came on to gush how amazing male midwives are as if they are extra special because they are men.

There are many roles in which men can support women and midwifery is very competitive. If a male takes a spot within a ward and a women in labour refuses his help there may not be enough staff to cover her. And females DO have the right to be seen by a women. Yet a mans need to be part of womens birth is more important than having enough female midwives on the floor. Why?

There are certain jobs that should be left to women, not because of sexism reasons but because the female patient should always be centred. There should have to a question of "can this male do this?' and it safe guards the females from the creeps that manage to sneak in.

We now have male breast feeding consultants. Why? What experience can a male offer a women having trouble breast feeding? Most breast feeding consultants have breast fed for years themselves, why the fuck would a man want to discuss in the very very intimate process and feelings of breast feeding .... oh wait..

shouldn't have **

It's just a way of saying 'you absolute bell end'. It's not sympathetic. The judge is just saying there's no positives about the behaviour. I don't think women are treated well by the judicial system or the healthcare system but this judge's summing up is not an example of that (though as others have said the whole judge's moralistic statement at the end is a bit questionable).

The wife's behaviour is so incomprehensible and the man so clearly a complete bastard that I wonder if there may be some coercion at play

In fairness sometimes the judges summing up gives a chance to let rip when a person has been given the benefit of the doubt by a jury and gives comfort to relatives.

IIRC there was a horrific murder where for some reason the jury decided it was manslaughter even though there was extensive evidence of pre-planning including digging the grave in advance yet he was convicted of manslaughter. I think the judge wasn't impressed.

However the other point about accepting this wife's glowing testimonial is that it appears to be just the one person speaking in his defence. Was there a queue of work mates sticking up for him? Or have they all backed into a quiet corner to whisper about how they always thought there was something "a bit off" about him?

And if anyone else had concerns they jolly well should have voiced them at the trial.

I think the judge just meant it was sad someone who would have been a valued member of society chose to go down a path of (frankly) depraved behaviour. Certainly he didn't mean midwifery was losing out because he is now on the sex offenders register.

I cannot fathom how a fellow nurse (his partner) could write a 'glowing reference' & keep her registration?

You must be of good character & it's just not good character to write a reference for a paedophile. & she knew he was a paedophile when she wrote it.

I'm not victim blaming here - as she is likely a victim of all this too, but she has enabled him to remain at large in society. It's unforgivable.

I have always been against male midwives, not that I think they are all paedophiles but they are men. I would never agree to have one.

Same. I refused intimate care from men throughout my pregnancy and thereafter.

@FannyCann

In fairness sometimes the judges summing up gives a chance to let rip when a person has been given the benefit of the doubt by a jury and gives comfort to relatives.

IIRC there was a horrific murder where for some reason the jury decided it was manslaughter even though there was extensive evidence of pre-planning including digging the grave in advance yet he was convicted of manslaughter. I think the judge wasn't impressed.

I used to work in the CJS, and one day I was in court at the end of a trial where the defendant had been acquitted, despite very strong evidence he was guilty. He was due to be sentenced for previous crimes at the same hearing and the judge, unusually, told the jury to stay in court for the sentencing. The defendant received a custodial sentence of several years (they were unpleasant crimes; not sexual but crimes against the person) and at the end, when the details of his actions had been laid out in court, the judge turned to the jury and said "and that, ladies and gentlemen, is the nature of the person you acquitted." I'd never seen a judge behave like that before or since, but he was Unhappy with a capital U, so they do sometimes use it as an opportunity to let rip.

What the actual hell?

Why isn’t this sick beast locked up with the keys thrown away?

@AgathaMystery

I cannot fathom how a fellow nurse (his partner) could write a 'glowing reference' & keep her registration?

You must be of good character & it's just not good character to write a reference for a paedophile. & she knew he was a paedophile when she wrote it.

I'm not victim blaming here - as she is likely a victim of all this too, but she has enabled him to remain at large in society. It's unforgivable.

You have no way of knowing if she is a "victim" so stop making excuses for her.

Her behaviour is despicable too.

Someone that managed to train into a profession where they would have access to countless of vulnerable women and babies.

Never happens apparently.

No parent is going to want their baby delivered by a paedophile. No woman is going to want her genitalia touched by a sex offender. The judge seems at pains to be sympathetic here. Why does a letter from a spouse count for anything? Being married didn't stop this man from offending.

And people should be able to request a same-sex HCP.

I didn't read it that way so much as 'now our desperately needed midwives are now one less because of you, you loser'. Less individual, more general.

This is how I read it too.

I don't think it's unusual for a judge to feel sad for the waste of human life or the detriment to society of losing someone contributing in a beneficial way, especially since they see so much of it.

I'm not sure how that really translates into "feeling sad for a pedophile" as if it's about wishing pedophiles could have happier lives or something.

I will always be highly suspicious of any man that chooses to work with vulnerable woman and children.

Whilst I appreciate you feel how you feel, my experiences are the opposite. I had a complicated consultant led pregnancy, which involved surgery half way through. My male Ob-Gyn was an absolute bloody star, his (also male) registrar was brilliant too. Met some of his students male and female and whilst I did wonder how one of them had made it to medical school! I didn't have a bad feeling about any of them.

@LemonSwan
There is no such thing as child porn. They are child abuse images.