St. Lca: Pedophilic pervert gets 12 years for rape of 9-year old girl
This is the conclusion of the story of Felix Dominique, 39, who was found guilty of having sex with a 9-year old at his home on May 18, 2002. In sentencing Felix Dominique, rapist and pedophile, Justice Hariprashad-Charles commented that[t]he upsurge in sexual offenses against young girls could not be ignored....The judge is nuts. She should have given this pervert the cat because, though the 9-year old did not become pregnant, there is always psychological damage where rape is involved. Dominique had "threatened [the child] with death, if she told anyone of the attack"; moreover, her mother testified that the child had had trouble sleeping since the rape. Therefore, the judge's conclusion was wrong, on the face of it. All the aggravating factors were present, bar pregnancy. The age of the child -- she'd just turned 9 -- should have been enough to earn Felix Dominique more than twelve years with hard labor and the cat o' nine tails. Nothing concentrates the mind of a criminal like the cat.
"It's a menace to society," the judge added. "Women are calling for the cat-o-nine tails. For a court to sentence a maximum penalty in my opinion, all the aggravating factors must be present, like a pregnancy, if the complainant is psychologically affected, or if violence was used.
"None of those were present in this case. The only aggravating factor was the age of the child. There was no violence in this case. I am forced to look at a nine to fifteen-year sentence. While the public is clamoring for life, I have to look at all the factors. A fair sentence is twelve years with hard labor."
Dominique didn't seem to understand. A court clerk repeated the sentence in Patois and he was led away by a police officer.
posted by Helen at 7:48 PM
2 Comments:
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I see the lash, cane, or leather strap as a good, strong deterrent for men and teenaged boys who physcially or sexually abuse women (and for those who are showing themselves to be career criminals who are not deterred by prison alone). Most sex crimes (including date rape, the most common form of rape) against women are committed by young, sexually focused males 16-24 yrs of age who need a strong deterent, could be reformed by such decisive correction early in life, and are physically robust enough to endure such discipline.
I have some admiration of the Singaporean justice system which provides mandatory caning for males, starting at 16 years of age, who are convicted of sexually offending against women. Even those who engage in nonconsensual sexual touching receive a minor caning. I see this is promoting respect for women and stopping problems before they escalate. Because most nations that still employ the lash are developing nations, I like how Singapore shows us that a nation can be modern and still have provision for flogging. And as most people know, the amount of sex crime is very low and repeating such a crime after having been caned across the bare backside for it is almost unheard of. Also, the introduction of caning in Malaysia succeeded in lowering an out of control crime rate.
Look at the example how even circus lions can be kept tame and safe when they know there is a whip available that can be used on them. The desire to avoid pain affects the behavior of all mamals. Where it is used, flogging is often considered the most dreaded form of punishment and men have been know to beg for more prison time in lieu of the lash or to cross jurisdictional lines to commit their crimes in juridictions where the whip was not in use. People think that society has evolved beyond the need for the lash, but have all men evolved beyond the need for this? What could be a more effective antidote to violent and sexual excesses of testosterone?
If whipping were in use, a man wanting to assault a woman would know he would also get hurt just like when a man decides not to attack a man whom he thinks can hurt him back badly. Also men need to know that assaulting a woman will not be even close to worth it and he will deeply regret it. Me motivated by sexual impulses to do force sex or sexual contact need to know that the pain of the punishment will far outweigh any pleasure derived from the crime.
I often think we could live in a better society if women felt safer around men and men were safer for women to be around. I also wish for women to feel that justice is done, that sex crime is blamed on the offender, that rape is taken seriously, and that women are valued by soceity. I see whipping as helping to achieve these ends and demonstrate these things — even when it is trusted men who abuse women, as is often the case.
Whipping also in some ways fits as a consequence for rape. The is stripped down, tied down, and whipped. He would have some sense of what it is like to feel pain, fear, humiliation, vulnerability, and a helplessness to resist. More conciousness of this traditional, efficient, effective, and time-honored form of correction is needed.
I can see merit in in limiting whipping to males. It avoids the problem of role modelling violence against women and sends a message that women are not to be beaten under any circumstance. Exempting women helps to elevate the status of women. Men use their strong bodies to abuse women so it makes sense that the punishment also makes use of the strong bodies which are well suited to endure the rigors of whipping. The physical power imbalance between women and men is mitigated if men also have to fear getting hurt when they attack women in the same way that men have that to fear when they consider attacking a man. Whipping could also be viewed as a very pro-woman form of punishment that protects women from physical harm and benefits them psychologically in that they can fee valued and safe and take some satisfaction that abusive men are being meaningfully punished. The psychological benefit to women is compromised if women end up having something new to fear (such as the idea of being theoretically subject to he lash themselves).
Such punishment should be done as humanely as possible and no more severely than necessary. I recommend the use of a leather strap because it is flat and not that likely to cause scaring cuts. There should also be supportive counselling offered before and afterwards. Of course, if the offender is judged mentally ill, he should be provided with psychiatric treatment, not whipping. Physical discipline should be provided for guys who know that abusing a woman is wrong and have the mental ability to control themselves but chose not to do so.
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