A judge in Australia has handed down non-custodial sentences to nine men who were found guilty of raping a girl of 10. Victim and culprits were Aboriginal.
The judge justified the leniency of the sentences by stating that the girl "probably" agreed to have sex. Australia's Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, has expressed his outrage over the sentence, and the Attorney General for Queensland, the state where the offences took place, has said the judge's remarks mystified him. It is a crime to have sexual intercourse with a child of 10, and there can be no justification.
Apparently, the girl was sexually abused a few years ago, after which she was fostered out of area. No one was charged in connection with that incident. On return to her settlement, she was again raped.
A review of all court cases for sex abuse involving Aboriginals has been ordered in the state of Queensland.
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WOW. I'm glad that all cases that judge may have been part of, are being reviewed now. I'm not aware of anywhere in the world where it's considered that a child of the age of 10 can give consent to sexual relations. I feel badly for her.
ReplyDeleteThat is diabolical ...love Jan xx
ReplyDeleteI heard this story earlier in the day Guedo and it made me sick then and does again. How can anyone treat anyone in such a way...it is beyond belief. And they say they live in a civilized country ! Sybil xx
ReplyDeleteAtrocious is the right word. There is no excuse for what these men did and no understanding for them or for that judge!
ReplyDeleteLori
Ten grown men...plus one supposedly educated judge think it is alright to subject a ten year old child to being raped because she consented??? And they used her one after the other no doubt ???? The judge might as well have been party to it by accepting their excuses!
ReplyDeleteTheir lust is lust! This child should have been protected completely from such a thing ever happening again but she was neglected once more and thrown to the wolves. There is more than ten men and a judge to blame in this instance for this childs continued vulnerability to rape. I hope this poor angel is protected from now on and the laws looked at to protect future incidences of this kind happening again.
The child should be taken into care and not allowed back into this environment again.
Dear God what is the world coming to?
Jeanie
Guido
ReplyDeleteOf course, this outrages me as it would any civilized individual. Courts are suposed to be based on factual evidence not "probabilities." This judge is out of order and it sounds like the government agrees. I glad for the review of all the Aboriginal sex abuse cases.
Sam
how very sad
ReplyDeleteOh that poor child. That judge needs to be removed from the bench immediately. There is no justification for the actions of those men. I cannot imagine how that poor little girl feels ~ everyone has failed her.
ReplyDeleteLisa
An absoulute disgrace, but then not that surprising the Aboriginies are treated with such contempt especially in the less urban areas in Austrailia, lets hope the the judge is removed, and this young girl gets the justice she deserves.
ReplyDeleteYasmin
Someone needs to take that precious little girl under their wing and protect her. No 10 year old willingly allows grown men to have sex with her. She's just a child....that is absolutley disgusting. God only knows if she will ever emotionally heal from the trauma she has experienced at such a young age. Linda in WA
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