I Am Going To Be Ill

I don’t often pull headlines and news stories straight from the pages and rant about them here. But this just is disgusting. There are two things, one here in Montreal and another in Holland.

In Montreal, back in November 2005, a 32 year old man, father of 4, was found guilty of sexual assault and of producing, possessing and distributing child pornography. The man cannot be named as to protect the identity of his daughter.

What makes this crime so heinous is that the assaults started when his daughter was two years old and lasted for two years. On top of that, the sick fuck posted pictures of the abuse on the Internet.

He received 10 years for assaulting his daughter and 5 years for the child porno charges. But on Tuesday, the Quebec Court of Appeal ruled, 2-1, that the man’s crimes were not amongst the worst sexual assaults ever committed. And they agreed to reduce his sentence from 15 years to 9.

In the ruling, Judge Lise Côté wrote:

There was no violence, such as gagging, threatening or hitting the child

Huh? What? At the same time, when the court reduced the sentence, the honourable judge cited the man’s young age and the fact he only had one other criminal conviction. And guess what, it was for sexually assaulting another child when he was 17.

Another important aspect to this is that the prosecution’s case was based on roughly 5,000 pictures and videos found the man’s computer. And some of these were featuring very young children.

On TV, yesterday, they had talking heads, some saying that legally the original judgement was to severe. Yet most of what covers sexual assaults deal with older people. Not a defenceless two year old. What does the honourable judge know of what really happened, save the snippets this sicko put on the net? Did she ask Ms Cleo to read tarot cards to confirm there was no gagging? There was no hitting?

What man, in their right mind, wants to have sex with a 2 year old? This isn’t sex. This is just getting your rocks off. It masturbating with something larger than your hand. How could a father look at a defenceless 2 year old and even entertain the idea of having sex with them?

Did these honourable judges ever think about the life long scar his daughter is going to have? It is bad enough that he would be coming out of prison when she is in her late teens but now he will be out in her early teens. What is going to happen to her then?

And I don’t give a shit about prisoner’s rights here. All reports during the trial said he never showed remorse. At the same time, this was not a one off. He did this for two years. Two whole years and proudly showed his pictures & video on line to other sickos out there.

His daughter may be just the tip of the iceberg. He has assaulted before. Then he assaults his daughter. Who knows who else might be out there?

Of course, this is just one outrage. Let us turn to Holland. A new Dutch political party has formed there. And guess by who? Pedophiles. They want to cut the legal age to 12 from 16. And eventually scrap the limit all together. Oh wait, this gets better. They want the legalization of child pornography and sex with animals.

One of the party founders, Ad van den Berg is quoted saying:

A ban just makes children curious

On top of that, the Charity, Freedom and Diversity (NVD) party

supports allowing pornography to be broadcast on daytime television, with only violent pornography limited to the late evening.

Toddlers should be given sex education and youths aged 16 and up should be allowed to appear in pornographic films and prostitute themselves. Sex with animals should be allowed although abuse of animals should remain illegal, the NVD said. [Reuters]

Crap like a ban just makes children curious is ludicrous. In places like Holland, they get good sex education, from what I gather. Yet even then, with their own peer group, teenagers will do it. But for most, they would not be interested in doing it with a 40 year old. They are not curious about that. They are looking about their own age group.

Sexuality with young people is a hot-button topic. Some people become sexuality aware young, whilst others are late bloomers. And there are problems with an arbitrary age limit. A 18 year old with a 16 year old would be illegal in many different places. They could be completely in love, the 18 year did not coerce the 16 year and they’re having sex is fully and completely consensual. But the 18 year old could end up in jail. But the NVD has no interest in them.

And the sheer absurdity that toddler should have sex education boggles my mind. They are not old enough to understand what sex entails. The responsibilities, the pressures,. the consequences. They have a hard enough time dealing with learning manners let alone sex.

Yet the most vile thing of their manifesto is the idea that teenagers should be allowed to be in porn and prostitution. Are they also suggesting on career day, in school, of having a booth: you could have a career in porn? I don’t think most teenagers, as they grow up, think of prostitution or porn as a career option. And shouldn’t.

The problem with groups like NVD is they are focused on one thing: themselves. These are grown men who want to have sex with young boys and girls. They could care less about the couple I mentioned above. Or the mindset of a toddler. These guys want to get their rocks off, no matter what. And with whomever they want. That is why they want young people in porn and prostitution.

But this whole thing is infecting our society. It is bad enough there is porn that advertise that their models are barely eighteen but it is also in the main stream. It is all around us. We are turning young kids into sex objects.

Young models are used to sell anything and everything. Celebrities like Brittany Spears dress like young school girls then sluts. Young male models are sprawled out to hawk underwear. Madison Avenue is blurring the age of consent to sell stuff.

And because of this, kids can’t be kids any more. I’ve walked down Ste. Catherine street and see young girls who, if lucky, are 16 but with their clothes and make-up look 18 or 19. Young guys are struggling to get that six pack and flocking to places to have hair removed. It is almost as if they are being told once you hit puberty, skip being a teenager and go straight to being an adult.

The sad thing is society at large is allowing it. Be it the disgusting judgment here in Montreal or the NVD, more and more the message out there is children are sex objects. And throughout all this, it is the children that is being forgotten.

Child abuse affects the children in different ways and leaves long lasting scars. It affects their ability to be intimate and trusting. Often they cannot have a long lasting, loving relationship. Some just abstain from sex.

I know I don’t have all the details about the case here in Montreal. I am not a lawyer. Legally, maybe the sentence was too harsh. The judges that reduced the sentence most likely are applying the law as they read it and are keeping to the point that justice is blind.

But here, justice cannot be blind. You cannot remove the daughter from the equation. You cannot remove the heinous act this man did, even if there was no violence, threats, etc. etc.

This sends out a chilling message. People who have been abused may not come forward if they see the system is being to be lenient or may change their mind. So children of child abuse become victims all over again and marginalized.

The case here in Montreal, for me, diminishes the impact of child abuse. It almost sends a message, if there is no violence, it is okay to do it. So if it feels good, go ahead. Just don’t hit, threaten or gag the kid. What does that say about our system and values?