Monday 7 November 2011

Shouldn’t This Be Considered ‘Contempt Of Court’?

A gang rape victim feared she was carrying the baby of one of her attackers for three months, a court has heard.

The 17-year-old found out she was pregnant following an attack by three men at a house party in Dartford in September last year.

Max Parker, aged 27, of Gore Road in Dartford, Benjamin Millen, aged 23, of Holywell Lane in Upchurch and Ryan King, aged 20, of Moore Close in Dartford were each sentenced to eight years imprisonment at Canterbury Crown Court yesterday after being convicted following a three week trial in Maidstone in September.
Lovely…
At one stage in the ordeal, Judge St John Stevens said one man shouted that he “wanted to have a go” and one of the men held the victim while another blocked the door.

He conceded the crime was “opportunistic” and “wholly out of character”.
Really?
Lawyers for all three defendants said their clients did not pose a danger to the public.
Are you sure about that?
Speaking for Millen, Dominic Webber said the pre-sentence report was “supportive”. He said: “It indicates, in almost all aspects, Mr Millen is a kind and gentle person.”
Funny, you wouldn’t expect a ‘kind and gentle person’ to take part in a gang-rape, would you, even one that was ‘out of character’...

But then, you wouldn’t expect the description ‘kind and gentle’ to be used in the case of a person with this record. Well, not with a straight face, anyway:
At the hearing, Millen also admitted breaching a suspended sentence – which was hours from expiring when the offence occurred – and breaching a community order for convictions of ABH, resulting from an attack on a motorist with an iron bar, and possession of cannabis.
I guess that’s the reason for the get-out phrase ‘in almost all aspects’….

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is my local paper Julia.I love putting sarcy comments on these stories and stirring up hillbilly reactions.Childish but amusing.
The comments in defence are hilarious,innit.
Jaded

Furor Teutonicus said...

XX "Shouldn’t This Be Considered ‘Contempt Of Court’?" XX

It SHOULD be, however....

I am not sure if a defence brief being "an outright lying bastard" can be covered by "Offering the client the best possible defence". But hej, judges/Barristers and solicitors are all in "the same club" aren't they!?

Angry Exile said...

It's more the pre-sentecing reports than the defence brief that make my head spin. It's an a priori conclusion that a kind and gentle person does not generally have a conviction for ABH, which makes me think that a more factual pre-sentence report would read something like "He's a savage bastard who has trouble with self-restraint, but given a bit of a heads up he can do a passable impersonation of a kind and gentle person for a while."

Wise Old Saying said...

He's kind and gentle when getting his way,
Acts out of character if you're in his way.

James Higham said...

Big pit to keep them all in - throw down food.

Anonymous said...

@James Higham

Why waste good food?

But keep the pit.

Furor Teutonicus said...

XX Angry Exile said...

It's more the pre-sentecing reports than the defence brief that make my head spin. It's an a priori conclusion that a kind and gentle person does not generally have a conviction for ABH, which makes me think that a more factual pre-sentence report would read something like "He's a savage bastard who has trouble with self-restraint, but given a bit of a heads up he can do a passable impersonation of a kind and gentle person for a while." XX

THAT is the job of the prosecution.

They do not appear to be very hot on the "prosecution" aspect of their job.

JuliaM said...

"The comments in defence are hilarious,innit."

Those I can understand, yes!

"But hej, judges/Barristers and solicitors are all in "the same club" aren't they!?"

And it appears to be a rather cozy one...

"He's kind and gentle when getting his way,"

I suspect so...

"Why waste good food?

But keep the pit."


:D

Anonymous said...

Why isn't this chappy dying in prison (of old age) rather than receiving a 4 year involuntary butlins trip?

AC1