The Double Standard Of Sexual Predators

Sexual predators  haunt the nightmares of parents, and there’s nothing more worrying than having your child fall victim to one. We trust that we can rely on the courts to protect against predators by punishing them effectively, and ensuring that their crimes aren’t repeated.

Well, perhaps not in all cases.

Picture this: an older individual, let’s say a 36-year-old, begins a ‘relationship’ (ie rape) with a child of 12.

The child happens to be a friend of the 36-year-old own offspring. To this 12-year-old, the 36-year-old is in a position of power, unable to be refused or turned away. Basically, the older person has the control.

Now, the relationship is a sexual one, and after two years of continually sexual abuse a child is born. The older individual is caught and taken to trial for the abuse, at which point they are given a term of just 6 years, with 3 and a half years of non-parole. Also, the victim will give the Department of Human Services the baby every week so that a jail visit can be made with the abuser.

What?

Does that feel like injustice? Although the judge appears not to think so it doesn’t quite sit right with much of the public.

Oh and did we mention that the 36-year-old in question was a mother of three, and the 12-year-old was the childhood ‘boyfriend’ of her daughter?

Yes, welcome to the double standard of sexual predators!

Let Us Be Clear

We have no intention of getting roasted by the internet, so let’s be clear here: We do not think that male sexual predators should get lighter sentences just because female sexual predators do. Rather, we think that all sexual predators, regardless of gender, should be jailed and punished as appropriate for the level of their crime.

Certainly, this appears not to be the case here.

The Damage Done

In deciding a jail sentence, it is important to look at the damage done. Let’s have a look at the case in question. The boy is now 14, and along with his mother is caring for the daughter that resulted from two years of continued sexual assault, during which time they had unprotected sex many times. The judge was noted as saying that the boy clearly loved his daughter very much, but he was confused and angry, and obviously unable to deal with the consequences of his past, and the realities of his future.

Essentially, this women took away the last remains of childhood, and the freedom of adolescence, away from her victim. His life will never be the same, and he may never reach his full potential, all because an adult took advantage of him for their own selfish motives.

The Motive

So what exactly was the motive? Well, it appears there were two. Firstly, the woman was having marital problems with her husband. They went on to separate in January of 2013, but at that point the woman had already started her sexual relationship with the boy. Courts uncovered that the main motivation may have been jealousy. The woman was jealous of the relationship that the victim had with her own daughter, after they met at just 11 years old. She started taking her victim to and from school, and first had unprotected sex when he was just 12 years old, and she was 36.

Between April of 2012 and May of 2014 (when her child was born), the two had unprotected sex more than 20 times, including in her car, and while camping in her backyard. In court, the woman said she was ashamed and embarrassed for what she had done, and carried a lot of guilt about her actions. She also told a court psychologist that she did not realise the boy was old enough to father a child (hello sex ed 101), and claimed she was attracted to him because he was sexually maturing. She claims she had no feelings of sexual attraction towards children.

Where Does That Leave Us?

In the end, the courts decided that the woman had not been acting in a predatory way, nor had she been driven by deviant secual desire. Rather, she had allowed her feelings of care to develop into a sexual relationship. The court’s psychologist indicated that the women, who had no prior convictions, wasn’t able to see that her relationship was inappropriate. However, they considered her unlikely to reoffend.

So, she was given a sentence of 6 years in jail, with a 3.5 year non-parole period.

Turn The Tables

Imagine now if we turned those tables. Imagine if it was a father of three who happened to develop sexual feelings for a female school friend of his son. Many 12-year-old girls appear more mature than boys on the surface, surely the same argument for sexual maturity could be made. Imagine then if the assault continued for two years, and the girl had a baby at just 14. Her entire life would be changed, and much of her potential might be lost under the weight of that responsibility.

Now imagine how the courts would sentence that man, and consider if perhaps there IS a double standard for female sexual predators.

What do you think?

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