Our courts need to get tougher on sex abusers – Mary Lou
A RECENT high-profile case has brought the judiciary into disrepute, Sinn Féin deputy leader Mary Lou McDonald told the Dáil yesterday as she called for a sentencing council to be established.
‘The leniency of the sentence handed down in a high-profile sexual offences case earlier this week has, rightfully, disgusted and angered people,’ she said.
‘The abuser groomed a young girl, bombarding her with thousands of text messages, many of which were sexually explicit. He then sexually abused her when she was only 16 years old.’
Earlier this week, former journalist Tom Humphries was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison for defilement of a child.
Ms McDonald said the public does not trust our justice system to deliver punishments that fit these crimes. She was interrupted by the chair and referred to Dáil Standing Orders, which state that ‘decisions or judgments of a duly constituted court cannot be subjected to review or discussion in the House as the House is not a judicial body’. Leas-Cheann Comhairle Pat ‘The Cope’ Gallagher said: ‘The Deputy cannot proceed; the Standing Order is very clear.’
Ms McDonald said the testimony of the victim was heartbreaking. ‘Victims of such crime are robbed of their confidence and dignity,’ she said. ‘They are left physically, emotionally and mentally sick and their childhoods are taken.
‘Yet so often, despite the horrific nature of these crimes, perpetrators receive very light sentences. This infuriates not just victims and their families but the general public.’
This has sent very dangerous messages to victims of crime generally but specifically to victims of sexual violence, she said, adding: ‘There is a real problem with the sentences handed down to perpetrators of rape and sexual abuse, in particular, and we must face up to that. Inconsistency, leniency and light sentences are common practice.’
Legislators should respond rationally and effectively to what was a very grave deficiency, and the Government must lead that response, she said.
‘We need to build public confidence. We need a mechanism to deliver consistency and accountability in sentencing,’ she said.
A sentencing council should be introduced, she said, involving a full range of stakeholders and the wider public, tasked with establishing punishment guidelines.
‘The guidelines would ensure the judiciary stick to the range provided for the category of offence before them,’ she said. ‘This would reassure the public of the appropriateness of sentences for serious crime. It would also ensure consistency and accountability across the courts system.’
Tánaiste, Frances Fitzgerald admitted there was ‘a long history in this country’ of difficulty in securing convictions for sexual offences. She said: ‘There is also a long history of a belief that the sentencing does not reflect the seriousness of the crime. I am on record again and again as saying I do not believe enough attention has been paid to victims in our legal system, and I reiterate that.
‘We need a sea change in attitudes to victims across the criminal justice system.’
The Government had recently introduced victims-of-crime legislation in line with an EU directive which would see some issues being dealt with ‘more robustly and more appropriately’, she said.
Sentencing was a matter for the judiciary, Ms Fitzgerald said, adding: ‘We respect the separation of powers in this country. The sentencing regime for sexual crimes has been greatly strengthened in recent years.’
The Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2017 has much stronger sanctions in respect of online grooming, she said, and introduces a specific offence relating to the use of technology to facilitate the sexual exploitation of a child. ‘It was extremely important that the House passed the legislation because there are new forms of interaction with young children on the internet, which makes them extremely vulnerable to sexual grooming and sexual exploitation,’ she added.
‘Our criminal law is strong in respect of the sanctions and penalties judges can hand down, but in each case, it is a matter for the judiciary and is not open to ministers or any other member to intervene regarding how a particular case is conducted or in the outcome of such proceedings.’
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