Sex Offenders
I read the following article on the BBC Scotland web site regarding the sentence passed down to a convicted rapist - a Dundee man named Alexander Petrie.
Now he was given 6 years in jail which would have been less if he had admitted his crimes - yet all things considered I think he got off very lightly, especially as the use of force was involved with both of his young victims, one of whom was exceptionally young indeed.
Personally speaking, I would have sent him to prison for at least 10 years - on the basis that he would spend that amount of time locked up - whereas he is likely to be back on the streets in 3 years.
The case also made me think about the sentence handed out Stuart Hall - the former BBC presenter - who was given 15 months in jail for a string of sex attacks against very young girls, 14 separate counts if I remember correctly - which included a 'discount' on his prison sentence because he eventually pled guilty, albeit very late in the day.
Finally, the case of Jeremy Forrest - the school teacher who 'ran away' with a 15-year-old pupil and was given a sentence of 1 year for child abduction (which he denied to the end) plus 4.5 years for pleading gulty to five separate counts of having sex with a minor.
The Forrest case clearly involved a gross abuse of trust from a person in a position of great responsibility - and although there was no violence involved the prosecution alleged that he had groomed his young pupil over a long period of time and was, therefore, a paedophile.
But the differences in sentencing are pretty unfathomable - to me anyway - and you would think, in this day and age, that some of our politicians would be taking these issues up.
BBC Scotland
Dundee man Alexander Petrie jailed for raping young girl
A 57-year-old man has been jailed for six years for raping a young girl in Dundee more than 20 years ago.
Alexander Petrie was found guilty of forcing himself on the girl twice, when she was aged between eight and 11.
He was also convicted of a further charge of indecency involving the same girl, and a serious sex offence against another 15-year-old girl.
At the High Court in Edinburgh, judge Lord Bannatyne told Petrie he had committed grave and appalling offences.
Petrie's lawyer, solicitor advocate Chris Fyffe, said his client still denied the charges.
He added that apart from a minor traffic offence, Petrie, from Dundee, was a first offender who had led a useful life.
However, Lord Bannatyne said: "I have to have regard to the nature of these offences.
"I regard them as very grave offences. I really regard them as quite appalling offences."
