A roundup of rape in court this week, in the USA, UK and Australia. Cut for rape and child sexual abuse triggers.

Carson City, Nevada, USA: the Nevada Appeal report on a plea-bargain in a child pornography case involving possession of sexual-act images of children under the age of 10 by a prince of a man, Jason Excell.

Pedophile judge Bill Maddox made some remarks prior to Excell’s sentencing:

“These kinds of offenses are problems with impulse control. When I say that, it’s my understanding that most men are sexually attracted to young women. When I say young women I don’t just mean women that … you should be attracted to. I mean women from the time they’re 1 all the way up until they’re 100.”

Maryland, USA: The Washington Post reports on a hearing on a bill to deny parental rights to rapists whose victims conceive and bear a child. The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Del. Joseph F. Vallario Jr., invoked 17th century jurist and rape sceptic Sir Matthew Hale:

“Implying that women could say they were raped when they weren’t, [Vallario] raised questions over whether he personally supports an outdated view of rape.[…] [he invoked Sir Matthew Hale], England’s chief justice in the 1670s, who instructed juries to be skeptical of rape claims: “Rape is an accusation easily to be made, hard to be proved, and harder yet to be defended by the party accused.”

Southwest Wales: 20-year-old Liam Edgecombe was spared jail after raping a ten year old girl outside a pub. He thought the ten-year-old rape victim was sixteen, he claimed, and since his barrister said that he managed to look “visibly traumatised” when told the girls real age, he was sent on his way.

Mr Justice Roderick Evans, at Swansea Crown Court, said the girl “was looking for a man and got what she wanted”. […] Mr Clee said Edgecombe, a painter, raised the subject of the girl’s age but she asked him: “Does it matter?” and the pair had intercourse twice. The next day police spotted the girl in the centre of the town and she was returned to care workers.”

The rapist’s lawyer also noted, as though it were of primary importance: “It was not her first sexual experience.”

Canberra, Australia: Justice Connolly reluctantly agreed to further cross-examination of a 16-year-old rape victim by defence counsel at sentencing. This happened after she had already been raped by two men taking turns; then embarked on the nightmare of a two-year legal process, involving reliving her ordeal once by giving evidence once at one committal, again at another committal, and yet again at the trial of Adam Voughan Stewart.

Co-rapist Luke Maddison pleaded guilty, so she was spared yet another recital of the horror.

The remorseless rapist, Stewart, who has been in and out of jail for robberies and assaults since he was 16, got five years:

“”I’m not sure why she lied about me, she made me out to be a predator … this is something that’s going to affect me for the rest of my life … I feel dirty that I’m being labelled a sex offender,” Stewart told his parole officer.”

In slightly less bad news, the High Five Slappin’ Gang Rapist Dudes in Sydney, are going to find their potentially lucrative career in amateur rape video for Catholic school students cut rather short. Remanded to custody. No bail. Ba-bowwoow. Thanks Magistrate Paul Mulroney.

 ** What I Have Learned: They can’t help it, infants are so super sexy, as are great-great-grandmothers, men have minimal control over our impulses, rape victims are lying to manipulate the court, it’s ok to rape ten year olds if they say they’re 16 and you don’t look too closely, victims should be made to recount their tale and be cross-examined at least four times, ideally more. But if you pack-rape a young woman, tape it all, and distribute the tape to Catholic schoolchildren, you might have a little trouble talking your way out of that one. So don’t go quite that far.

Categories: gender & feminism, law & order

Tags: law