Thursday 8 December 2011

Mangled English, Mangled Law…


This rather odd headline refers to this case:
Registered sex offender Paul Spelman was jailed for three years for twice breaking a sexual offences order at the Kingfisher leisure centre in Fairfield Road, Kingston, last November.
And those two weren’t his first offences, either:
The original order was imposed following a string of convictions involving children stretching back to 1987.
The judge came up with quite a novel amendment to the order, too:
Judge Fergus Mitchell also told him to wear two pairs of trunks when swimming, as he imposed a new sexual offences prevention order on Spelman on April 13.
But, because these people can always find a lawyer with no kids, or one whose kids go to a different leisure centre, it wasn’t long before it was challenged…
The 42-year-old, of Eversley Crescent, Isleworth, appealed against his convictions and the terms of the order at the Court of Appeal on Friday, November 18.

The three-man panel quashed one conviction from November 14, when the prosecution offered no evidence, and reduced his sentence to 18 months.
*sigh*
But they upheld the other, from four days earlier, when a mum saw him sit with his hand down his trousers near children using rides near the cafe, and then went to the public changing area.
And they weren’t quite so keen to uphold the ‘two trunks’ ban either:
However, the judges turned down Spelman’s bid to overturn the ban on him swimming in just one pair of trunks.
Still, hopefully, once this pervert’s face is in posters all around the…

Oh. Wait:
Police have refused to issue a photograph of jailed pervert Paul Spelman, despite a judge imposing strict conditions on his post-release life to prevent him reoffending.
It seems he’s not just a water baby, he’s fond of driving too:
It also bans him from being alone in vehicles not directly traceable to him, following a 2009 incident when he drove alongside a coach of children on the M25, stripped off while at the wheel and started masturbating in front of them.
So, why can’t we all be warned what this piece of filth looks like?
… Kingston police said they withheld his photo to protect his family.
Because the rest of us don’t deserve protection, obviously…

9 comments:

Captain Haddock said...

Meanwhile, ordinary decent parents & grandparents are forbidden to photograph their kids & grandkids in nativity plays ..

The world truly is a crazy place ..

Bobo said...

"A justice system biased against the victim."

Martin said...

The judiciary protecting paedos? What a shocker!

Angry Exile said...

What does it matter how many sets of bathers he's wearing? Just don't let him in. Seems to be a private leisure centre so unless he turns up in a antique diving suit tell him he's not welcome. As for the other conditions, seems unnecessarily difficult to police what vehicle he's in. Surely it'd have been miles easier to ban him from, say, leaving a locked cell except under supervision?

Bobo said...

The 'two pairs of trunks' thing is bizarre. Presumably it is intended to minimize the visibility of his ....ahem....'enthusiasm' at the proximity of children. But somehow it puts me in mind of a snippet I saw on the telly a while back, in the dying years of NuLab rule.

Some Junior Minister or another was spouting on about how it was up to the ordinary citizen to 'take a stand against crime': the usual lobbox. The interviewer asked him exactly what he thought an ordinary citizen should do if they witnessed a crime being perpetrated. The JM looked perplexed for a second, then visibly brightened and said "Well....they could jump up and down and clap their hands or something."

The whole point about this kind of approach to justice is that a sop is disdainfully tossed to us law'n'order, bring-back-hanging-and-send-the-darkies-home-while-you're-at-it Daily Mail reader types whilst, in reality, NOTHING is actually done.

Woman on a Raft said...

Two pairs of trunks - how weedy.

What they should have dictated is that he can only come in wearing an Edwardian bathing suit in huge black and white stripes, buttoned up to the neck.

Or maybe a ladies' swimming cozzi with a delicate skirt as favoured by the more mature swimmer.

No problem picking him out then.

Captain Haddock said...

Or .. if anyone in authority had sufficient backbone ..

They might suggest he be dressed in a fetching little combination of grey cap, jacket & trousers .. all overprinted with broad black arrows ..

blueknight said...

How to recognise him? Apparently it's usually hard....

JuliaM said...

"Meanwhile, ordinary decent parents & grandparents are forbidden to photograph their kids & grandkids in nativity plays .."

The mind boggles at the mentality of some people...

"Seems to be a private leisure centre so unless he turns up in a antique diving suit tell him he's not welcome."

Perhaps they are imposing it in case the pool does decide to let him in, for fear of being sued?

"The JM looked perplexed for a second, then visibly brightened and said "Well....they could jump up and down and clap their hands or something.""

/headdesk

"What they should have dictated is that he can only come in wearing an Edwardian bathing suit in huge black and white stripes, buttoned up to the neck. "

:D