Judge Peter Fox QC said the pornography was “the worst kind of abuse of very small children for the perverted lust of people like you”. He added: “How you could be attracted to that kind of material beggars belief”. Judge Fox admitted people would be puzzled by his decision to let Barnes go, as official guidelines suggested a short jail sentence for his offences.
But he told Barnes: “In addition to the images, there was your perverted activities over the internet with the 13-year-old, who, I accept, appears to have seduced you.” The National Victims’ Association said it was “incomprehensible” to blame Barnes’ young victim. Spokesman Neil Atkinson said: “Thirteen-year-olds have to be protected. They are children. Intellectually, ethically and legally, this girl could not be on the same level as a man in his 20s.
“The judge is right that most people will be disturbed by an adult receiving a suspended sentence for this. It is abhorrent anyone should, in effect, go un-punished for something that could have led to a far more serious offence.” As well as the suspended jail term with supervision, Barnes was given 300 hours of unpaid community work and placed on a sex offender treatment programme. In 2008, Judge Fox caused similar outrage by ruling a 40-year-old woman was seduced by a boy of 14 after she admitted having sex with him.
7 comments:
As well as his offences against this 13 year old CHILD this man had images on his computer which included the rape of a five year old.In what way should he not be in jail?
The judge said he was of previously good character which is patently untrue.
I've made this semi-inflammatory comment before (though maybe not here), but a thirteen year old is an adolescent and not a child. In many past and a few current cultures she'd probably be married. The idea that childhood is an absolute condition that ends at the stroke of midnight the 18th birthday is absurd...and recent. Remember how you felt from about age 12 on when called a child? Childhood is something we ease out of as we grow, learn, and develop. Adolescents aren't the same as children and they ARE sexual. It's a time of crushes, experimentation, etc...as it should be. The modern difference being that it goes on with peers (or should) and not a spouse.
I think both the man and the girl should have known better. Pedophilia is predatory and as wrong as any other predatory sexuality. The girl should be punished severely by her parents because her behavior was inappropriate and she is old enough to know some of the possible repercussions and old enough to know what she was doing. Again...not an innocent child. The man should have put the brakes on it if he knew her age, but I do believe pedophilia is an illness, so I can't completely blame him and I hope his treatment helps.
Blitherypoop,
Well said! I couldn't agree with you more.
he should do it the berlusconi way : changing the law from day to day to avoid spending time in prison
:-D
I hope he drops dead.
Yes, blame and punish the victims every time, that's the way to do it
As the adult, he should have known better, yes. And he certainly shouldn't be looking at child porn. But I have a few questions in this case. If he never actually met the girl, and she told him she was older than she was, how was he supposed to know that what he was doing was wrong? It's not against the law to have cybersex with another consenting adult (is it?)...
I guess this just goes to show that you really can't trust anybody on the Internet.
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