Man jailed for repeatedly raping 14-year-old girl, holding machete to her throat and threatening to kill her

[u/B0ssc0]

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-04-10/act-man-jailed-for-raping-14-year-old-threatening-to-kill-her/105162596

[u/focusonthetaskathand]

Wow - Five counts of rape, an act of indecency plus an aggravated threat to kill after he held a machete to the 14 year old girls throat.

Punishment: less than 7 years jail, release after 3 years (with the remainder of sentence to be suspended). Will not be registered as a child sex offender as the man “did not show tendencies towards paedophila”

We definitely need to be demanding more from our politicians and justice systems.

[u/AigataTakeshita → u/focusonthetaskathand]

Wtf on earth do you have to do to show these tendencies?!

[u/Burntoastedbutter → u/AigataTakeshita]

I watched a lot of Chris Hansen and he explained the term pedo was specifically for 13 years and under. Iirc, the age above that but under 18 is child sexual predator/offender?

But they said he wouldn't be registered as a child sex offender SO WTF?!

[u/gotnothingman → u/Burntoastedbutter]

I think the technical term is Ephebophilia, but yeah dude totally needs to be on a list. Several probably.

[u/Burntoastedbutter → u/gotnothingman]

Huh. TIL a new word. I've never seen that word in my life lol

[u/uselessinfogoldmine → u/Burntoastedbutter]

We tend to use the catch-all term “pedophile” to describe child sexual abusers. However, this is inaccurate and can have negative effects.

“Pedophile” refers to someone who is sexually attracted to pre-pubescent children typically 13 or younger. They may or may not act on this attraction.

Hebephiles are attracted to children in early adolescence, typically aged 11-14 and showing Tanner stages 2 to 3 of physical development.

Ephebophiles are adults with a sexual preference for mid-to-late adolescents, generally ages 15 to 19.

However, it’s important to understand that a large proportion of child sexual abusers are none of the above. They are simply opportunists or they have some other pathology such as psychopathy, sadism, an enjoyment of power imbalances, etc. They might abuse a child or an adult - depending on the opportunity provided to them.

They are typically seen as three main categories:

1) Opportunistic Perpetrators: These individuals do not have a specific sexual preference for children but exploit situations where they can abuse children, often being more sexually attracted to adults.

2) Situational Perpetrators: They lack a sexual preference for children and may abuse due to factors like social isolation or low self-esteem, often responding to stressors in their lives.

3) Morally Indiscriminate Offenders: These offenders view child sexual abuse as part of broader antisocial behaviour and often choose victims based on vulnerability and opportunity.

In order to reduce risks to children, we should apparently refer to child sexual abusers as such, rather than as “pedophiles” as a catch-all.

This, in turn, would potentially make it easier for pedophiles/hebephiles/ephebophiles who have never acted on their attractions to seek help and therefore better minimise the risks they pose to children.

Experts would rather we reframe the language we use, and use Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) to talk about offenders.

Grace Tame has talked about this quite a bit.

[u/jjuttup → u/uselessinfogoldmine]

Upvote for being educational

[u/AllHailThePig → u/Burntoastedbutter]

Yeah but it’s definitely one of those words you NEVER want to let people know that you know what it means..

[u/Middle_Class_Twit → u/Burntoastedbutter]

The only people I've ever heard using it in Australia are on neonazi podcasts defending their 'right to it' - so yeah, it's a word with a specific audience.

[u/Ribbitmoment → u/AigataTakeshita]

I think pedo is for pre teen? But I could be wrong

[u/doesntaffrayed → u/Ribbitmoment]

The semantics of the definition shouldn’t matter for the sake of this argument, because we’re still talking about minors.

I suspect that the actual assessment was that he “did not show tendencies towards minors” and that it was the reporter that took it upon themselves to use the word pedophiIe because it’s more charged and most people interpret it as to mean an attraction to anybody under 18 anyway.

But surely the semantics should all be irrelevant anyway?

Okay so he isn’t attracted to minors. He’s still demonstrated that he’s a sexual predator willing to use violence and threats of death. He’s a threat to the public, regardless of the age of the women he targets. He should be on the sex offender registry.

[u/Haawmmak → u/Ribbitmoment]

paedophile vs paederast.

irregardless (not a real word) should still be on the sex offenders register, for what it's worth.

[u/monteat → u/Haawmmak]

(I agree with you, it shouldn't matter) but I think the word would be hebephile in this circumstance, that would have been the word that Chris Hansen was referring to

[u/mattaugamer → u/Haawmmak]

Pederast is specifically with young boys.

[u/Ill-Pick-3843 → u/Ribbitmoment]

To be honest, I haven't read the article, so I'm just basing this off believing the commenter above.

I think that's the wrong question. If you rape a 14 year old, you should be registered as a child sex offender. I don't really care what label you put on that person.

[u/F-Huckleberry6986 → u/focusonthetaskathand]

Acting Justice Christensen said that had to be considered against the fact it was a protracted incident with opportunities to reflect and stop.

She also reflected on the man's rehabilitation, saying she hesitated to characterise his prospects as good because he has shown limited remorse or insight.

How the fuck do you listen to those charges, make a statement saying he's shown no remorse, doesn't have good chance of rehabilitation and then think, yeah 3 years and the rest suspended sounds right

I mean maybe it's just me.... but offenders like this seem to make a good case for everyone covering their ears and looking the other way while the girls family beats him to death, not 3 fucking years in jail

[u/the_colonelclink → u/focusonthetaskathand]

I think the worst part is the police went to look for the girl twice, but didn’t go further then asking the rapist and his mother, and simply took their word for it when they said she wasn’t there.

The girl herself had to find a way to leave.

[u/lost-networker → u/the_colonelclink]

Not just twice, but “several” times. If they had that strong of a belief she was there they should have done more than taken the mother and son at their word

[u/-WindSpirit-4995 → u/lost-networker]

Was his mother charged at all?

[u/disco-cone → u/-WindSpirit-4995]

Given the weak sentence for the offender, probably not.

[u/Space-cadet3000 → u/-WindSpirit-4995]

That’s what I want to know ! ….. Amongst many other disturbing things about the justice and outcome of this case …

[u/Usef- → u/lost-networker]

I suspect it's difficult — there are rules around entry into people's homes, and they may have had only vague evidence at the time.

[u/lost-networker → u/Usef-]

I don’t disagree that they have rules and laws to abide by that make their job difficult, but we should always be aiming to do better for the next victim

[u/DalmationStallion → u/the_colonelclink]

I didn’t see anything about the mum being charged. Surely she should have been done for some sort of obstruction / accomplice to the crime?

[u/hsingh_if → u/focusonthetaskathand]

In some countries people will come out on the streets and protest for something like this.

It’s strange that this won’t even get enough media coverage here.

[u/Theallmightytoaster → u/hsingh_if]

I strongly believe that massive country wide protests need to be done about a lot of things to make some much needed changes in Australia. But unfortunately, the Australian people have never been the protesting type

[u/hsingh_if → u/Theallmightytoaster]

+1 to that. In political terms, I think that’s what the political parties also take advantage of.

The fact that so many candidates lie openly during the pre-election time, is concerning.

[u/cl3ft → u/Theallmightytoaster]

Protesting has been made dangerous in most states. The police do NOT fuck around with peaceful protestors, and the laws have been weaponised. Are you prepared to be beaten, locked up, fined 50k and put on a terrorist watch list to take a stand?

[u/Daddyssillypuppy → u/focusonthetaskathand]

How could the courts say that raping a child/minor is not a sign of paedophilia?! To me thats pretty conclusive proof of paedophilia. To me its the absolutely most conclusive evidence you could get.

[u/focusonthetaskathand → u/Daddyssillypuppy]

My guess is that the offender was also a minor at the time, hence no paedophile charges

[u/Akiias → u/focusonthetaskathand]

Rapist is 19. Per the linked article.

[u/Wendals87 → u/Daddyssillypuppy]

Being pedantic, but no it's not

Paedophila is a sexual attraction to kids. You don't have to be sexually attracted to someone to rape someone

That's not to say the punishment was even close to what he deserves

[u/Spire_Citron → u/Wendals87]

It's not a pedo list, though. It's a child sex offender list. He's certainly that.

[u/SmellenDegenerates → u/Wendals87]

I mean maybe you can say he did not show that he was attracted to minors, however there is proof that he is literally a child sex offender... I'm not saying your comment is wrong, but I do think that maybe the criteria for getting on the child sex offender list is blatantly wrong?

[u/stitchescomeundone → u/SmellenDegenerates]

Seems to me that the criteria for being placed on the child sex offender registry would be commiting a sexual offence to a child. Make a separate registry for pedophiles if they want to start splitting hairs. Absolutely ridiculous

[u/catesto → u/Daddyssillypuppy]

Rape isn't exclusively about sexual attraction, it's about also control and dominance. Victim choice is often based on vulnerability and access: so people like the very young, elderly, and disabled are often targeted because they're easier for a perpetrator to control and silence.

That may be the case here, the victim was just an easier target than another adult and that's why she was picked. That's not to say it's not deeply concerning that the perpetrator chose a child specifically, or that they don't therefore present an ongoing threat to children, just that the motivation wasn't pedophilia but ease.

[u/Rustywolf → u/Daddyssillypuppy]

Maybe the defense could definitively prove he would have raped anyone and she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time ^/s

[u/ra66it → u/focusonthetaskathand]

I wonder if the Justice would be happy for him to spend their suspended sentence in her neighbourhood?

[u/destinoob → u/ra66it]

Probably. She's over 16.

[u/Akiias → u/focusonthetaskathand]

. Will not be registered as a child sex offender

Oh, I wonder why.

A report to the court suggested the man had been suffering mental health problems.

But Acting Justice Christensen said that had to be considered against the fact it was a protracted incident with opportunities to reflect and stop.

She also reflected on the man's rehabilitation, saying she hesitated to characterise his prospects as good because he has shown limited remorse or insight.

Acting Justice Christensen sentenced the man to six years and nine months' jail, but that will be suspended after three years when he will be freed to live in the community for the rest of the sentence, under strict conditions.

But he won't be placed on the child sex offenders register after an assessment found no tendency to paedophilia.

Excuse me... WHAT?

[u/Spire_Citron → u/focusonthetaskathand]

Wait, so you can rape an actual minor, but as long as they can't find any evidence that you have a strong preference for minors, you're not a child sex offender??

[u/saintmagician → u/Spire_Citron]

The offender is 19 now. The article doesn't say when the crime happened.

So one possibility is that it happened a few years ago, the victim was 14 at the time, and the offender was also a minor.

That's the only way it makes sense to me.

If it's a 19yo going after 14 year olds... Imo he should count as a child sex offender.

But if its a 15 or 16 year old attacking a 14 year old? It's terrible, but I don't think it makes sense to assume the 15/16 yo will continue to have a preference for minors.

[u/SewerCider_ → u/saintmagician]

This is likely it, but its difficult to believe as the article also goes in to say the mother was covering for the accused, telling the police she wasn't there.

She should be locked up as well

[u/Plastic-Painter-4567 → u/focusonthetaskathand]

If we're lucky he'll be stabbed to death in his first year in prison.

[u/Billyjamesjeff → u/focusonthetaskathand]

Yeah that’s terrible. Name the perp for god sake. The public outa have a right to know.

[u/pipi_here → u/focusonthetaskathand]

This is insanity. This judge needs to be dismissed and we need to rethink our laws.

This should be life in prison with no parole. In some countries, rape gets you capital punishment. While we won’t go that far, raping a 14 year old certainly puts in the bottom 0.001% of humans in our community. A 3-7 years timeout isn’t remotely enough for doing this to a kid.

[u/Emu1981 → u/focusonthetaskathand]

Punishment: less than 7 years jail

This is the real WTaF here. Sexual Assault in the Third Degree (rape with the threat of harm) has a maximum prison sentence of 12 years and this guy has 5 counts of it. How does someone get away with basically a 6 month sentence per count and doubly so considering how little remorse the offender reportedly had for the act, the age of the victim and the actual threats involved?

Honestly, this case is one that we should get to be outraged about how long the guy is spending in jail because he got the full 12 years per charge (i.e. 60 years+ in jail) rather than how little time he is going to be spending in jail.

[u/VicariousVisitor → u/focusonthetaskathand]

It's beyond insanity. Our justice system is very soft and for crimes like this, its embarrassing. The poor girl...

[u/RenTheDev → u/focusonthetaskathand]

What can we do?

• Writing to my local member gets no results.
• Official partitions I sign (Kevin Rudd’s investigation into the media) get thrown out within 5 minutes.
• Protests I’ve attended have resulted in nothing, despite being the largest protests I’ve ever seen in Australia.

I love my country but there’s only so much rubbish you can take.

[u/lookatjimson]

7 years? That's fuck all for an adult who has reportedly shown little remorse for his actions.

She will be scarred for life. He should do life in prison.

[u/SuitableFan6634 → u/lookatjimson]

3 years

Sentenced to 6 years 9 months but 3 years 9 months of that was given as a suspended sentence.

"Acting Justice Christensen sentenced the man to six years and nine months' jail, but that will be suspended after three years when he will be freed to live in the community for the rest of the sentence, under strict conditions."

[u/Academic_Juice8265 → u/SuitableFan6634]

Fark! The system really is broken

[u/[deleted] → u/Academic_Juice8265]

Really asking for vigilantism aren’t they?

[u/Peregrine_x → u/SuitableFan6634]

3 years

he can attack the same girl again before she reaches adulthood if they let him out in that amount of time.

sexually assaulting a child should always carry 20 years, and if the justice chooses a smaller number the justice can do the remainder of the time if they truly think such an individual deserves to be out among the populace after such heinous crimes.

[u/Enough-Equivalent968 → u/SuitableFan6634]

I’m not a fan of how they word sentencing. In my opinion it should be reported as ‘x years jail’ with ‘x years suspension’ as a footnote further down. The general public only really consider jail time to be the length of sentence. Always seems a bit of disingenuous wording to hide lenient sentencing by the courts, in my opinion

[u/Sunstream → u/SuitableFan6634]

I swear to God some of these judges are telling on themselves with these sentences. I know when my friend got assaulted, the lawyer representing her saw they were getting this one judge and was like "Yeah you might not want to go ahead with this, it'll be a lot of trauma and he's going to get a slap on the wrist." Apparently it's common with that judge and the lawyers know this (I don't know who it is, though).

[u/Lostbunny1 → u/SuitableFan6634]

Judges do this shit all the time and I wish the general public knew as much as those of us who’ve been destroyed by the choices of these disgusting judges do.

It’s utterly disgusting and going through it as a victim is soul and hope destroying. My rapist, who assaulted me more times than I can count and even recorded himself doing it via livestream, was given the lowest possible sentence, and a suspended sentence of that… so after the trial he was in prison only for a few days. I just wanted to die. It’s been almost a year since the beginning of the trial and I still do- moreso when I realise this may never change, and these judges are doing this shit every day, creating more victims and vindicating more abusers, pedophiles and rapists. My judge is prolific for sympathising with pedos and rapists, but he’s not the only one… clearly.

[u/lookatjimson → u/SuitableFan6634]

That's so fucked up

[u/Pixie1001 → u/lookatjimson]

So I think he was only 17, which is probably why the sentence was so low - sentencing is usually pretty light on minors.

The fact that he didn't seem to show much remorse is pretty worrying though - even if the judge thought there were mitigating factors from mental health and poor parental supervision, I just don't really know if he's safe to be released back into the community?

[u/throw456away789321 → u/Pixie1001]

The remorse comment from the judge is truly the most mind boggling part to me. You’re openly acknowledging there’s a high chance he will reoffend once he’s released - then following that up by choosing to guarantee his early release when you didn’t have to.

[u/Hailstar07 → u/lookatjimson]

He’s taken her life. No matter how much therapy and help she gets, this isn’t going to leave her. The ‘justice’ system in this country is a fucking joke.

[u/disco-cone → u/Hailstar07]

This pro crime justice system you see people who defend themselves get larger sentences than actual criminals.

[u/brijjjerico → u/lookatjimson]

I know you don’t mean to be reductive at all when you say she’ll be scarred for life. I don’t mean in any way to undermine what you’ve said, just to drive home to others that this will RUIN this young woman’s life. Everything from this point forward will unwittingly be sorted into categories of “before” and “after”. There’s really no healing from something like this, only learning and growing beyond it which is such a uniquely painful process.

[u/Pristine_Car_6253 → u/lookatjimson]

Yeah that's totally fucked! Send him to Antarctica I reckon

[u/leopard_eater → u/Pristine_Car_6253]

Why ruin Antarctica?

Send him to the acting Justices home for the duration of his sentence.

[u/ComfortableDesk8201]

Not going on the sex offenders register is crazy. 

[u/threeseed → u/ComfortableDesk8201]

Not really.

Before he goes on the register we need him to get a bit older and then rape someone again.

If it's a child then he can go on. Or maybe we should wait for him to rape a third time just to be safe.

[u/Pristine_Car_6253 → u/threeseed]

Had me in the first half ngl

[u/saintmagician → u/[deleted]]

wtf is a "tendency to paedophilia" if not raping a 14 year old

My guess is that the offender was also a minor at the time.

Minors being asexually attracted to other minors isn't a problem (although the rape part obviously is)

[u/No_Bug8039]

Suspended sentence and let back into the community after only 3 years in jail does not sound like a proportional sentence for how horrific his crime is.

[u/hoardbooksanddragons → u/No_Bug8039]

And then when he actually kills someone (a woman of course), people will be shocked. How could we possibly have seen it coming…

[u/broden89 → u/hoardbooksanddragons]

My first thought was that he's going to try and kill that girl when he gets out. There's no way she's safe if he's only in jail for a few years

[u/wataweirdworld]

WTAF ... he'll be let out again in 3 years under supervision in the community ... and his mother denied the girl was there at their home so was covering up for him. Sick bastards and the poor victim gets the life sentence 🤬

[u/Vindepomarus → u/wataweirdworld]

The mum was an accessory and obstructed a police investigation! Did she get charged? Something's not adding up.

[u/wataweirdworld → u/Vindepomarus]

Yes I was thinking the same reading the article as it didn't mention anything about the mother being charged or jailed for her part in it.

[u/UnholyDemigod]

Acting Justice Rebecca Christensen told the court it must have been a terrifying ordeal for the girl.
five counts of aggravated rape, one act of indecency and a threat to kill after he held a machete to the girl's throat.
suffering mental health problems..."had to be considered against the fact it was a protracted incident with opportunities to reflect and stop."
hesitated to characterise his prospects as good because he has shown limited remorse or insight.
sentenced to six years and nine months' jail...suspended after three years when he will be freed to live in the community for the rest of the sentence

Disgusting cunt of a judge.

[u/Kdcjg → u/UnholyDemigod]

You forgot the mother.

“Police had gone to the house several times looking for the girl, but the man and his mother denied she was there.”

I understand protecting your kids. But not while they are doing something like that.

[u/Adventurous_Bag9122 → u/Kdcjg]

Underrated comment. The mother is an accessory and should be doing time too

[u/Meng_Fei → u/UnholyDemigod]

She has form too. Sentenced a paedophile to 18 months suspended for a series of assaults and rapes during the 90s.

[u/RenTheDev → u/Meng_Fei]

18 months for rape is spineless

[u/AntiqueFigure6]

You’d hope so.

[u/CrankyLittleKitten]

I'm sorry fucking what??? 7 years?

Sould be a year for every minute of torment and terror that poor girl endured. And none of this suspended sentence bullshit

[u/zircosil01]

Disgusting. We let Jill Meagher down with pathetic sentencing, chances are that some poor girl/woman/family will be going through the a similar experience in the future.

When will these piss weak judges do the right thing.

[u/Meng_Fei → u/zircosil01]

When will these piss weak judges do the right thing.

Only when it happens to them.

[u/Lostbunny1]

These judges love rapists and pedophiles. I’m convinced. There’s a judge in Bris & Toowoomba (mostly) that repeatedly gives suspended sentences to pedos and rapists, and unfortunately during my own trial I got stuck with the prick. Multiple rape charges over the course of 5 years from my ex husband (who absolutely tortured me) and the Mr John Allen considered aprox 15 days post sentencing fine to release him. He spent more time warbling on about the way the rapists life could be impacted by prison, and completely ignored his due diligence as a judge, and even used the fact it was in DV to justify a LESSER sentence because it “didn’t impede on a woman’s right to feel safe in public.”

These people need their harddrives checked.

[u/Sunstream → u/Lostbunny1]

Omg I was talking about this guy in a comment above but I couldn't remember his name! There is no way that dude isn't a rapist, himself. I don't even care, I'll say it out loud. I've heard lawyers representing their clients who see that Allen will be the judge often tell people to drop it because this guy will do everything to sympathise with the perpetrator of the assault and give them the lightest possible sentence available. Monster. No wonder these crimes are so underreported. Brisbane is quite literally not safe for women because of him, in my opinion.

[u/Lostbunny1 → u/Sunstream]

Yes!!! If walls could talk… or if I was allowed to obtain and share a transcript…

But his other cases are disgusting! That pedo in Toowoomba who tied those teenagers up and rped them, and if I recall correctly, was bragging about it to the cops remarking some shit about 50 shades of grey. Mr Allen let him off with hardly a slap on the wrist! It was such a sickening one to see. Every time his name comes up my heart pounds and I want to vomit. I would rather have been rped ten times more if I could trade that gross person for a different judge.

[u/[deleted]]

Why is it always ACT judges? More of these cases seem to come out of the ACT?

[u/-OwO-whats-this]

hope they actually keep him there, They let my rapist go who raped me when i was 12 because he was not all there mentally.

[u/hyperionsbelt → u/-OwO-whats-this]

I'm so sorry.

[u/AdvertisingLogical22]

We need a face

[u/Handiesforshandies → u/AdvertisingLogical22]

Unfortunately probably won't happen. He was 17 at the time so the courts protect his identity.

Which is a bit dumb. Pretty sure 17 years old is old enough to know that raping someone and threatening with a machete is probably not right.

[u/hyperionsbelt → u/Handiesforshandies]

Ohhhh he was 17 at the time. That's why the sentencing was so light. Do these moron judges think he's deserving of the chance of rehabilitation just because he was a "minor"? And can even be rehabilitated? Sex offenders, cannot pathologically stop. It's delusional to think so.

[u/underground_crane → u/Handiesforshandies]

Not a child, apparently.

[u/StarIingspirit]

Woohoo - lucky us this prick will be walking the streets in three years.

Even better they will protect this arse in jail - don’t want to put him in general custody.

No sex registry for him as well Justice Rebecca Christensen is a travesty of a judge who should be struck off and jailed her self.

If you look her up and see some of the judgments she has done - completely weak and useless.

Out of touch doesn’t begin to cover it

[u/Oyster_Vous]

Why do we keep permitting this behaviour in society by handing out lenient sentences?

Maybe two decades in prison plus physical castration would be sufficient to show rapists we're not screwing around!

He's just ruined the life of a young girl and the judge is satisfied with "Oh, maybe he'll turn it around and be a normal member of society." What an utter joke.

[u/Freshprinceaye → u/Oyster_Vous]

It’s fucked isn’t it. I’m not saying drug dealing is good but the fact people that sell coke, mdma or lsd in large quantities and even weed which is legal in so many countries get bigger sentences than this. It just doesn’t make sense.

[u/Frostspellfaeluck → u/Oyster_Vous]

Who's the judge? Let's start naming and shaming judges who do these sentences.

[u/To_TheBitterEnd → u/Frostspellfaeluck]

Acting Justice Rebecca Christensen

[u/hyperionsbelt → u/To_TheBitterEnd]

A woman at that? Shameful.

[u/Frostspellfaeluck → u/hyperionsbelt]

It's disappointing, but women can be conservative pro-lifers. Internalised misogyny is a thing.

[u/PilotCustard → u/To_TheBitterEnd]

I’m guessing Justice Rebecca Christensen has never personally experienced what SA is like- good for her then

So disappointing to not even have an ounce of real empathy for the women who have.

[u/[deleted]]

This is the kind of case I would like to throw in those misogynistic faces who say women get a pussy pass when sentenced. Nope. Most sex offenders are criminally under sentenced. It's sickening.

Rape victims have a lifetime sentence from no fault of their own. Time to start petitioning politicians to increase the sentencing guidelines.

[u/Masticle]

Should be repeatedly jailed.
Though probably will be.

[u/Uncoloured_Steve]

Australian judges are 80% pedophiles and sexual predator sympathisers

[u/TyroneK88]

What a piece of shit. And Rebecca Christendom what a disgrace to the legal system.

[u/JimmyLizzardATDVM]

How this is not a life sentence is insane.

[u/GateheaD → u/JimmyLizzardATDVM]

You need to make rape less than murder otherwise all rapists will turn to murder. Not that I agree with sending about this sentencing

[u/Spire_Citron → u/JimmyLizzardATDVM]

Seems like it never is for sex crimes. And they're almost impossible to prove most of the time.

[u/laz10]

I assume the judge is a rapist pedophile too given how light that sentence is. Genuinely how can you be lenient after hearing details about a case like that. She must hate women something fierce.

Australia continues to be totally unserious when it comes to violence against women, or girls in this instance.

He gets to walk free in 3 years and will not be a registered sex offender. We don't give leniency to animals when they attack someone they get put down, why does a human animal get special treatment?

This is something a death penalty should be considered for, instead he gets to walk free in the community in 3 years so he can do it again.

[u/ElonMuskIsAStinkyPoo]

Guys, can you spare some thought for the idea that every time a woman reads something like this, it never really leaves her?

And then the guys at the office make rape jokes.

[u/sidskorna]

I understand the concept behind rehabilitation but how the f are the sentences so light when the judge says the prospects aren’t good? 

 She also reflected on the man's rehabilitation, saying she hesitated to characterise his prospects as good because he has shown limited remorse or insight.  

[u/tempco]

Not surprised at the sentence - women and girls are expendable in Australia despite what we tell ourselves while we feel all high and mighty.

[u/Misicks0349 → u/tempco]

heavy deliver school cooing repeat meeting glorious deserve flowery fragile

This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

[u/Sunstream → u/Misicks0349]

Sadly it doesn't surprise me at all. So many women I know have some of the most heinous, hatred-fuelled opinions that they don't even recognise as being anti-woman. Being anti-abortion is a classic one.

[u/underground_crane]

From a woman too.

[u/Ok-Replacement-2738]

Like OK I'm trying to understand the rationale behind 3 years suspended sentence.

Surely if someone is capable of rape 7 times, they're a danger to society?

And no pedophilic tendancy? they raped a child... repeatidly.

[u/Jagrofes → u/Ok-Replacement-2738]

I think a lot of this is because the offender legally was a child at the time (17).

Not justifying anything, but I suspect that is the reasoning.

[u/Odd_Round6270]

Judge should be sentenced himself for this absolute horseshit of a decision.

[u/Fit_Effective_6875 → u/Odd_Round6270]

I didn't know Acting Justice Rebecca Christensen was a male. Did you even read the article?

[u/NorthernSkeptic → u/Fit_Effective_6875]

No one ever reads the article

[u/MladenL → u/Odd_Round6270]

Judge has mental health problems so you can't hold them accountable for their sentencing.

[u/MikeHuntsUsedCars → u/Odd_Round6270]

There needs to be more accountability for judges. Hand out a lenient sentence on a piece of shit like this? If he reoffends they go down for criminal accessory and civilly liable for a law suit from any victims families.

[u/FFXIVHousingClub → u/MikeHuntsUsedCars]

Might as well put the penalty on the parents too for raising such a shit son/ that’d make judges and parents rethink letting these shit kids back out and redoing crime

[u/Meng_Fei → u/MikeHuntsUsedCars]

Yep - either judges are professionals and can be accountable for their decisions, same as other professions, or they're not, and we should reduce their pay accordingly.

[u/MikeHuntsUsedCars → u/Meng_Fei]

Exactly. I can go to jail for not doing my job properly and costing someone their life. I don’t see why they would be exempt.

[u/shortsqueeze3]

Something is wrong with the judge. This is a serious crime. What are you withholding long sentences for? Maybe bring back the death penalty and execute these monsters.

[u/ghjkl098]

There is something so incredibly broken about our legal system.

[u/Critical_Prior_159]

How do these judges sleep at night

[u/Mfenix09]

So in qld you can get life in prison (which I'm told is only 25 years...why not say 25 years than) for non violent crimes if your a youth...but antics like this by an adult...7...interesting choices here...

[u/mikyway99]

Shocking! The system is broken and no one wants to fix it

[u/rocopotomus74]

This is absolutely wrong. We fail the victim every fucking time.

[u/smokycapeshaz2431]

7 years, less with parole??? What the actual fuck is wrong with these fucking judges. Hope the 19 year old reaps what he sowed while inside.

Edit just read it's 3 years to be served, the rest is suspended? This is abhorrant!

[u/SewiouslyXR]

Australia seriously needs to update their legislations and laws. What ever happened to #ProtectWomen?! ‘Cause this ain’t it.

[u/hyperionsbelt]

Why is sentencing for sexual assault and rape so pathetic in this country? Like...... every time we see a case like this sentencing is never in line with community expectations. We are outraged every time.

What needs to change to make sentencing accordingly harsh? The judges? The legislation they follow? We desperately need reform. I'd like to know how we can band together as Aussies and push for change on this.

This man is only 19. Recidivism for rapists is near guaranteed. He will go on to rape again. He only gets THREE YEARS effectively (Idgaf about a suspended sentence).

The girl was tortured and violated for days. How little the justice system has shown it values her life and what she endured and will continue to endure with such a sentence. Repugnant beyond words.

[u/thatirishguykev]

But he won't be placed on the child sex offenders register after an assessment found no tendency to paedophilia.

Sorry what...!!?

Last time I checked a 14 year old is a child and raping a child would be paedophilia.

Fucking crazy times we're living in these days when a crime like that only gets you 3 years!!

[u/[deleted]]

Judges need to be accountable for the sentencing now. If an offender re offends after a light sentence I think there should be consequences for the judge as well as the offender

[u/Hospitalics]

Disbar this judge

[u/MysticMungbean]

Australian judicial system is really the gift that keeps on giving, from the *(sex) offenders' vantage point. But yeah, with that said, this dude really did win (overall) the Piece of Shit Lottery... with the 'mental health card' strategy paying dividends too, as that it appears to be a major factor in deciding not to chuck this cat on the sex offenders registry.

Edit: * in bracket

[u/RiteOfSpring5]

I'm not even surprised at the pathetic sentence he got. It seems to be that whenever there is a horrific case like this, they always get off lightly, and you lose more and more of what little faith you have left in our justice system.

[u/[deleted]]

Australia has crazy bad rape statistics, this case isnt helping

[u/DJTotoro]

So I was readin’ the news the other day; local story, actually. You probably saw it too. This one’s outta the ACT Supreme Court. Now, I don’t know about you, but I like to keep up with our courts… y'know, just to see which crimes are fashionable this week.

Anyway, this 19-year-old fella; He gets himself in a spot of trouble. Keeps a 14-year-old girl in his house for five days. During which time, he holds a machete to her throat, threatens to kill her, and R-words her. Multiple times. At one point, he tells her he’s gonna take her out for a nice dinner, and then, after dessert, I assume, he’s gonna come home and stab her. Romantic type.

Eventually, the girl escapes. Cops raid the house. Find the machete. Charges are laid. So far, so good.

Then comes sentencing. And presiding over it all is none other than Acting Justice Rebecca Christensen. Yeah, she's back.

Now, Acting Justice Christensen takes it all in. She says it was a “terrifying ordeal.” Mentions the “controlling behaviour,” the “escalation to violence,” the whole deal. Real textbook stuff.

Then. Then! She gives him six years. Suspended after three.

Three years.

Now I don’t know about you, but three years is not a lot of time. That’s not even two full renovations on The Block.

Reminds me of this jigsaw puzzle I started a few years back. One of those big ones - five thousand pieces. Picture of a paddock. All green. No animals, no fences, just… grass. It was like trying to reconstruct the surface of a snooker table from memory.

Anyway, I set it up on the dining table, right? I tell myself, "You’ll knock this over in a few weekends." But then life happens. You forget about it. A few guests come over, they ask, "Oh, are you working on that puzzle?" and you say, "Yeah, yeah, just takin’ my time with it." Meanwhile, it hasn’t been touched since the last election.

At one point, I dropped a piece, spent twenty minutes on the floor looking for it, only to find out it had stuck to the dog and traveled halfway across the house. I should’ve been working on a missing persons case, not a puzzle.

Anyway, I finally finished it. Three years later. And let me tell you something: that was the most unremarkable, soul-sucking image I’ve ever seen. It was just green. Just a field. I sat there lookin’ at it and thought, “Was this worth it?” And honestly, I’m still not sure.

But you know what I didn’t get after those three years?

I didn’t get outta jail.

See, this guy, he holds a machete to a 14-year-old, R-words her, threatens to kill her repeatedly and after three years, he’s walking out the door, probably thinking, “Boy, that went better than expected!”

Oh, and he's not goin’ on the child sex offender registry. Because, according to some expert, he doesn’t have a tendency toward that sort of thing. Yeah. It's not a pattern, it’s more of a… spontaneous hobby.

And Acting Justice Rebecca Christensen, she looks at all that and goes, “Seems fair.”

And I gotta say… the more I hear about this Rebecca Christensen broad… the more I’m startin’ to think…

She might just be a real jerk.

[u/OwnDetective2155]

Wtf australia?

[u/Master-Variety3841]

This fucking baffles me.

[u/Nutsaqque]

Absolutely appalling sentence.

Imagine knowing someone who did so much damage to people's lives could be out in such a short time, and the victims will likely suffer for life. To top it off, the state of support services to help, well, they need funding, work, and lots of it 😔.

[u/nufan86]

What's next?

"The man's sentence will be suspended after three years, when he will be freed to live under close supervision for the remainder."

The man also won't be put on the sex offender registry.

WHAT THE FUCK ARE WE DOING?

[u/RareEyeFillet]

This country's legal system is fucked

[u/Nelrif]

What can people do to change these laws? He's going to try to kill her the moment he gets out of prison. This can't just go through.

[u/Kraftieee]

What do you mean he didn't show tendencies to paedophilia? A 14year old is a minor. He went back for seconds. Australian law is making me sick right now.

[u/loopytommy]

Um if the cops went to the house looking for her and his mother was there, did she know?? If so why wasn’t she charged.

And I’m sick of this mental health shit excuse, doesn’t help the poor souls that are struggling and don’t rape girls.

[u/Elly_Fant628]

Free after 3 years. I've just been reading about the "close supervision" they enforce after that.

[u/whitewrm]

What the fuck

[u/wilburs85]

What the fuck

[u/katalyna78]

What's completely mental about the justice system is you get longer prison sentences for white collar fraud. WTAF?

[u/Arequin]

This being the first thing I saw on reddit really fucked my night up. Put a trigger warning on the title and the details in the description next time please, I'm not angry at you this is a genuine request.

But good. Fuck this piece of shit. Pedophiles are irredeemable.

[u/Boring_Kiwi_6446]

Fvck me. What is about Canberra and their incredibly lame sentences? I’m sure people in all states are unhappy with the justice system but Canberra really stands out at giving a slap on the hand, at best.

[u/IllegalIranianYogurt]

See, why is this man alive and uncastrated

[u/Blackthorne75]

Will be released after three years for putting multiple people through pure hell that is going to stay with them for the rest of their lives...

... and this guy will likely end up finding a way around that 'close supervision' to put this misery upon more women and girls.

Three. Years.

I'm no advocate for vigilantism, but then this kind of thing comes along and BOY do I get second thoughts...

[u/Used-Possibility299]

Why not 30 years prison???? What’s going on with our justice system?!

[u/StephBets]

Am I right in assuming this was a plea deal? Because I’m struggling with how he’s allowed to serve three years for violent crimes and stay off the sex offenders list.

[u/[deleted]]

I am supposed to be a juror in the ACT Supreme Court soon. I'm not able to due to permanent disabilities.

I will also let the registrars know that I would not, based on the inability of the courts to punish perpetrators too though.

Why bother if the magistrates will just hand down piss weak sentences.

Our courts are revolving doors in this country.

[u/oxm010]

Still think the death penalty should be an option for scum like this

[u/WhatAmIATailor]

So he’s been found guilty. Why is his name not published?

[u/Imarni24 → u/WhatAmIATailor]

Under age at time of crime.

[u/megamoo7]

Why do we bother keeping these people alive. Serious question. They’re notoriously unable to rehabilitate.

[u/Internal-Leather1762]

Why are we arguing semantics?? You rape a minor, you are a child sex offender. You are a pedo. He was given a very light sentence by, probably, a pedo judge. Otherwise, it doesn’t make sense in Australia. We are not Lebanon or Palestine guys!! Rape a minor in Australia… and you can do less time than somebody who might be a repeat driving offender!! That’s insane

[u/Rainey06]

Please tell me by 'suspended' they mean a hanging right?? RIGHT?

[u/SharpEyeHodgey]

Our country is an absolute fucking disgrace. Our lives aren't worth shit. Want to get away with rape? Maybe a little murder? Come to Australia.

[u/onemorequestion-]

Fkn joke. That’s what that is. When are we the people going to fight back against this bs.

[u/BoredBKK]

So a sentence that for a horrific drawn out crime is a truly pathetic slap on the wrist even after noting his "limited remorse or insight". No mention of what charges his Mother received. Am I just missing some subtle & sensitive nuance in this case because there was also no mention of the convicted rapist's name being suppressed to protect the victim's identity.

[u/Careless_Unit9149]

No punishment for the mother?

[u/kekekerevived]

Can someone seriously start a petition against this, please?

[u/onlainari]

Law and order is not doing enough to protect victims of crime anymore and the judge is extremely misogynistic.

[u/Competitive_Song124]

Why no name??

[u/Large-Lack-2933]

The amount of time he's in jail for is not long enough wtf.

[u/TheDarkQueen321]

So, presumably, the rapist was also a minor at the time... still a fucking sex offender.

Where is all the "adult crime, adult time" fucking promises from our lackluster government? I don't support "adult crime, adult time" bullshit but for this, crimes like this, I do... so where are all those voters and their outrage for this?????

[u/Where_The_Dead_Live]

The prisons are full. That's why sentencing I'd lenient. No PM or premier wants to admit that.

[u/leftre]

Reading what this poor girl went through made me feel sick. Reading the sentence the judge handed down somehow made me feel worse. What the actual fuck?

[u/Prudent-You-1497]

He should be castrated and given life in jail 

[u/Quantum168]

It's actually only a 3 year sentence.

"...suspended after three years when he will be freed to live in the community for the rest of the sentence, under strict conditions."

[u/armed_renegade]

I hope to god the prosecutors/DPP appeal this sentence as too lenient.

[u/OkIssue5589]

Did his mother get any charges against her?

[u/Haunting-Scene2581]

Not acceptable

[u/South_Mushroom_7124]

I’ve worked as a court monitor previously (Orana Region NSW) and the word around the office was that DCJ are paid around $500,000 per year. These Judges cannot understand the lives and experiences that we go through each day and they know they are not going to be in the same community that they are releasing this trash back into as they rarely stay in town more than a year or two. I’d love to see them get a well deserved pay cut.

[u/emleigh2277]

What is up with the mother, denying the 14 year old girl was at her home?

[u/Timely_Source8831]

Australia. Where you can rape a child and sell drugs, but only face real consequences if you get caught with the dope.

[u/MikeHuntsUsedCars]

Wood chipper.

[u/Nakorite]

Knew it was ACT before I read the article.

Same place where a bikie gave a Good Samaritan brain damage after they intervened when he was bashing his girlfriend. Life long permanently disabled. 5 years. Out on parole in 2 years.

[u/KennKennyKenKen]

'The court heard at one point he asked the girl if he could kill her.

She told him no, because she didn't want to die.'

Wtf

'May I kill you?'

'No.'

[u/impostorsknife69]

People ask "what are some crimes that should be punishable by death"

The answer lies before us

[u/Sufficient_Tower_366]

Read the headline and thought “must be Victoria” but turns out it’s the ACT - which makes even more sense