Rapist of a child gets community sentence

He was. It is not suggesting that anyone lives in caves to think that this is another example of women's rights suffering as a result of dogma, and ill-thought-through legislation.

I do agree that thinking of sanctions other than jail for under 25s is a good idea, but there should be a mandatory jail sentence for rapists, IMO. Or at least unless there is a lot of mitigation (eg statutory rape in some cases).

GrannyGravy13

Callistemon21

Parsley3

Have I got this right? In Scotland, 16 year old children are deemed to be mature enough to officially change their gender but a 21 year old rapist is not mature enough to serve a prison sentence. I despair as we have surely lost the plot.

I think he was allegedly 17 when he carried out the rapes

That’s is what the Scottish press is reporting, I wonder why it took so long to go to trial?

Perhaps the victim was too frightened to report it?

volver3

Oh please.

Give it a rest.

We all live in caves and have no morals at all.

And no, you haven't got this right.

Could you enlighten us please?

Have we got the essential facts, as reported, quite wrong? Or should we not discuss what has been reported in case it goes to appeal?

You cannot tell us all to give it a rest, sorry.
Unless you are GNHQ but the moderators are usually much more polite than that.

Callistemon21

Parsley3

Have I got this right? In Scotland, 16 year old children are deemed to be mature enough to officially change their gender but a 21 year old rapist is not mature enough to serve a prison sentence. I despair as we have surely lost the plot.

I think he was allegedly 17 when he carried out the rapes

That’s is what the Scottish press is reporting, I wonder why it took so long to go to trial?

Parsley3

Have I got this right? In Scotland, 16 year old children are deemed to be mature enough to officially change their gender but a 21 year old rapist is not mature enough to serve a prison sentence. I despair as we have surely lost the plot.

I think he was allegedly 17 when he carried out the rapes

volver3

Oh please.

Give it a rest.

We all live in caves and have no morals at all.

And no, you haven't got this right.

If the media have got this wrong perhaps you could enlighten us?

Oh please.

Give it a rest.

We all live in caves and have no morals at all.

And no, you haven't got this right.

The plot is well and truly lost, yes.

Have I got this right? In Scotland, 16 year old children are deemed to be mature enough to officially change their gender but a 21 year old rapist is not mature enough to serve a prison sentence. I despair as we have surely lost the plot.

Oh yes. I'm in no way disputing that, Parsley. It's a disgrace. The whole thing seems to have gone through with the same level of concern for women and their welfare as did the transwomen in jails' debacle.

This sends all the wrong messages. The victim is being told her rape really wasn't that much, that a bit of unpaid work by the offender makes reparation to society. It fails to recognise in any way the lifelong impact this could have on the victim, who was a child at the time.

I am also in favour of rehabilitation as an alternative to prison for young offenders but in the case of this rape there is a young girl who now has a life sentence to deal with what has happened to her.

As I understand it, it will be reviewed. And it happened as a direct result of an initiative from the Scottish Parliament to stop the jailing of young people based on research that shows that their brains are not fully developed until they are 25.

That makes a certain amount of sense, as young people are likely to become more criminalised in jail, and arguably more attempts at rehabilitation should be made before jail sentences are given out. I am broadly in favour with the principle, but unfortunately when coupled with the disregard shown by the SNP towards women's rights, it has resulted in this awful case.

Women all over the world need to be on our guard against the tide of misogyny that seems to be sweeping over everywhere. I fear for future generations if it isn't stopped in its tracks.

The one thing it has done - is to give this young man a lot more publicity about his bad and inappropriate behaviour than would have happened if he had been more appropriately sentenced.

Hopefully the sentencing will be reviewed.

It is not the fault of the Scottish government but a poor interpretation by the judge of the purpose of reducing prison time for young offenders. It will be appealed and I hope a better punishment is chosen.

Awful.

Sounds like the judge, well actually what happens when judges do not dispense justice?

Appalling. This could set a disastrous precedent, which would see future rapists also expecting to escape a prison sentence. The offences against the 13 year-old took place on "multiple occasions", so it was not an isolated incident. Even once should be enough to attract a custodial sentence. Where is the sense of justice for the victim here? Surely this must go to appeal. Not surprisingly, there is a massive public outcry locally. I despair..

I couldn't agree more, Callistemon21. How can the rape of a 13-year-old NOT merit a custodial sentence, no matter what age the perpetrator was? As you say, this sends out a very dangerous message indeed.

Good, I'm pleased to hear that Blondiescot

It sends out the wrong message to young men and boys and is not supportive of vulnerabe children.

This happened just a few miles from me. There has been a huge outcry over this case (and rightly so) and I'd be highly surprised if there is not an appeal against the leniency of the sentence.

It seems strange because the offences occurred when he was 17, 4 years ago, but the new sentencing guidelines came in just over a year ago.

I don't know what the new guidelines are when sentencing someone of that age convicted of rape.

It does seem as if he got away very lightly indeed.

It is not the fault of the Scottish Government in this case, but the decision of a judge. That judgement seems extremely flawed and will lead to an appeal I'm sure