The Greens oppose the CPRS not because it is too weak, but because it will point Australia in the wrong direction with little prospect of turning it around in the timeframe within which emissions must peak, says Senator Christine Milne.
Teacher’s s-xual relationship treated like murder
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Who gets jail terms of seven and half years? People who commit violent offences like armed robbery, those found guilty of culpable driving, people convicted of manslaughter and even, if there are enough mitigating circumstances, those who commit murder. You get the picture — seven and a half years is a serious punishment reserved for extremely serious crime. Does a 28-year-old school teacher who has a same s-x relationship with a 14-year-old student over a period of two years deserve the same jail time as the armed robber or the drunken person who kills another while driving? Yes, according to a Queensland District Court judge who last week imposed a seven and a half year jail term on Brisbane teacher Amanda Thompson, without even setting a minimum term that Ms Thompson must serve before being eligible for parole. Ms Thompson and the student indulged in mutual m-sturbation, oral s-x, sleepovers and weekend trips away. The student had a history of eating and other behavioral problems, but according to lawyers for Ms Thompson, her grades and performance at school actually improved during the time of the relationship. Even allowing for the fact that the courts take a dim view of teachers who abuse their position with children, this sentence seems seriously over the top. That Ms Thompson can consider herself treated very harshly indeed is evident if one compares recent sentences handed down in similar cases around Australia. Here’s a sample:
The way the law in Australia deals with student teacher s-xual relationships is, in some respects, simplistic. It regards all of them as inherently evil and worthy of the most severe sanction our society can impose — the deprivation of liberty. The idea that all such relationships, irrespective of the circumstances and the position of the parties involved, must always receive the condemnation of society, is in some respects a case of moral panic. How else can one explain the handing down of a seven and a half year sentence to a teacher for an inappropriate relationship when a person convicted of an aggravated r-pe which ruins the life of a victim gets a similar deal? |
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9 Comments
“Is it okay to take a case to the court of public opinion before it has been dealt with exhaustively in our (official) courtrooms or isn’t it?”
When do you decide it’s ok? After it’s been appealed all the way to the highest court in our country? Radio talkback is going to be discussing this before, during and after the case, and trashing both sides reputation (and the judge, if it’s a non-jury case). How long a jury system can continue to work is the question.
The inconsistency in sentencing likely has to do with genders. I can see a lot of people saying about the WA case - “lucky b*stard”
“The student had a history of eating and other behavioral problems”
Since when does eating qualify as a behavioural problem??
The teacher was way out of order but so is the sentence..hopefully some balance will be restored on appeal and the sentencing judge will receive a dose of reality.
I’m always gob-smacked on Queensland’s bizarre legal system so clearly out of whack with relevant penalties for crimes. The convicted paedophile Dennis Ferguson roams the streets to this day awaiting trial for alleged sexual crimes committed against a 5-year-old two years after his release for similar child offences for which he served 14-years. A seige in Ipswich sent him packing when he was discovered living in the town with another paedophile for which he claimed compensation for the trauma and was granted it.
Yes a seven-year sentence is harsh but appealable. At this stage we cant even get Ferguson into court!!
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/08/15/2336385.htm
Greg, last week you were jumping up and down about the Victorian cops making public statements before the coroner had reported on the death of the 15-year old kid. Now you’re pleading the case on behalf of a prisoner who has presumably got a range of appeal mechanisms open to her. Is it okay to take a case to the court of public opinion before it has been dealt with exhaustively in our (official) courtrooms or isn’t it?
This is an extremely serious offense, to take advantage of a young person like this. The sentence is adequate and I don’t think it should be any shorter.
I am with you Greg Barnes - what a ridiculous sentence. 7 1/2 years jail for ‘consensual’ sex with a teen age student is a bit rich in any person’s language. Most of the criminals at Nuremburg received less time. I believe a woman in Victoria was found guilty of the same offence with a 15 year old male student ealy last year and received no jail time at all. No one is condoning the act (and kid’s lives are precious) but there are many in government and church institutions, especially in Qld, who have abused and raped their way through their working lives and received little or no sentences or naming in the press. And what about the Chef who committed the same type of offence in the same jurisdiction with a teenage girl and received a 3 year jail term, suspended after 6 mths (and that was this week). But really, who really gains from sending this woman to jail. Considering the level of illiteracy in this country, she should be made to teach less advantaged children and adults under strict supervision for a year or 2 if she is indeed guilty. Sending a person to prison for this type of ’crime’ is a waste of tax payer’s time and resources. Then again, lucky she didn’t steal a loaf of bread in the Smart State. She would have been set upon by sniffer dogs, tasered and fined for being a public nuisance, and probably exiled to New South Wales.
The sentence is grossly excessive for something that has been happening in high schools for decades.
One thing the sentence does highlight is how inadequate jail terms are for armed robbers and rapists etc. As usual my Christmas wish will be for more jails to be bullt to house the scum of society.
Mike Smith, I wasn’t so much criticising discussion of this matter, I was using Greg Barns’ article to have a dig at him over his article from last Friday when he slammed the Victorian police for responding to journalists’ questions.
No mention has been made of the different laws in different states. I’m 99% certain that this prosecution was under state laws, which vary from place to place. While pulling up the stats from different jurisdictions is relevant when considering the issue, the details from interstate couldn’t have had much bearing on the judge in this case, who would sentence purely according to local law. I’m inclined to agree that this sentence seems on the heavy side, but I’d bet London to a brick that the prisoner in this case will be considering an appeal against the sentence. There is still every chance of a different outcome to this matter.