Juvenile sentencing for serious sexual offences: Where do we stand?
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
The Pat Kenny Show. With Timber Living Log Cabins. Saturday and Sunday from 10am on Newstalk. Conversation that counts. Juvenile sentencing for sex offences and rape hit the headlines in the UK this week when it came to light that a judge had given three boys convicted of the rape and serious sexual assault of two underage girls rehabilitation orders rather than prison sentences. Bravely, one of the girls and her parents spoke to Victoria Derbyshire on BBC's Newsnight, their words voiced here by actors, and also we'll hear a Labour MP who gave his emotional response.
It's heartbreaking. With exams going on, there were dreams for her and her own dreams, and they've all been put back because... We've seen her confidence in what she does and how she is in herself drop to a low. How much you try and pick her up and go, you can do this, and try and get that bit of motivation back into her that this does not end anything. To see her struggle just breaks your heart.
What recent juvenile sentencing case has sparked public outrage in the UK?
I think it's just, as a family, we're just, we are all there trying to do our best to support her. It doesn't stop with my daughter, it doesn't stop with us. The wider family is impacted, every single one of us. She was happy, bubbly, outgoing. Now she doesn't really have a lot of motivation to do anything. I feel like no matter what I do, I can always feel their hands on me. No matter how much I've scrubbed, how much I've tried to get that feeling away, it's always there. And it just doesn't feel like my body anymore.
Those girls deserve justice, as do their families, both for them, but also for other girls that are put in that position. And quite frankly, other boys need to know that they can't behave in that way and get away with it. No parent wants their daughter to be in those circumstances. And you don't want a society in which girls are growing up in those circumstances. Boys need to know they cannot behave in that way. It's not acceptable in society. And if you do, there must be consequences for it.
Well, all of that caused massive outrage and shock in the United Kingdom.
How did the victims and their families respond to the sentencing decision?
And we were wondering, was what the judge did in line with sentencing guidelines? Because they do have those in the UK. And those judges and their guidelines, are they out of touch with public opinion? And what might the situation be in Ireland? Well, I'm joined by Nolan Blackwell, online safety coordinator at the Children's Rights Alliance, former chief executive at the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre. And of course, she herself, Laura Nolan. Good morning and welcome. Morning.
Now, so what the judge did there, was that in line with their guidelines for these kind of offences? that custody is always the last resort and the focus has to be on rehabilitation. So that's where the guidelines go. And when I was reading that case back again, just in thinking about today, I saw where the parents and the child, you have to absolutely just give them such credit for everything. for trying to, struggling to deal with this, but also going through the legal system. And going through to the end, they made the point it was a life sentence for their daughter and for the other girl as well.
So rehabilitation for the perpetrators, no rehab for the daughter.
So that's a different story. So how do you actually give that girl and the other girl who was also a separate victim of the same young offenders, how do you give them all of the supports, all of the rehab they need? If they had been knocked down by, say, the kids in a stolen car or something like that, there would be much more available than there is for a young person like that.
That question of rehabilitation, you know, you can almost hear the judge saying they're very young. We don't want, you know, one mistake made in their youth shouldn't define the rest of their lives. If they go to prison, it'll be basically a school for crime. If they go in there, that's all very well. And it's bleeding hard stuff. Because these guys need to be punished for their wrongdoing, never mind rehabilitating.
They might need that as well.
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:01–1:04
2
What recent juvenile sentencing case has sparked public outrage in the UK?
1:04–2:11
3
How did the victims and their families respond to the sentencing decision?
2:11–10:10
4
What are the implications of rehabilitation orders versus prison sentences for young offenders?
10:10–10:52
5
How do UK sentencing guidelines relate to public opinion on juvenile crime?
10:52–15:27