This story in The Sun today does make you wonder what on earth is going on:
“One adult in 12 convicted of the most serious sex assaults on kids walks free from court.
The maximum punishment for rape or attempted rape of a child under 13 is life.
But new figures show ten people were let off with a suspended or community sentence in the two years to December 2007. And that does not include those who received a police caution so didn’t even appear in court.” I’m not someone who instinctively believes that longer sentences are better in all cases. But it seems absurd and dangerous that there are adults who have raped—or attempt to rape—children who aren’t going to jail. Sentences like this, undermine confidence in the entire judicial system.
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