http://www.cbc.ca/stories/2003/09/04/saskrape030904
All I can say is WHAT THE FUCK?Saskatchewan man won't be jailed for sexual assault of 12-year-old
Last Updated Fri, 05 Sep 2003 21:06:37
MELFORT, SASK. - A man convicted of sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl in Saskatchewan will not be going to prison. A judge has given Dean Edmondson a two-year conditional sentence.
Two years ago, a 12-year-old Cree girl was picked up by some men near Tisdale. They gave her beer and the girl was later assaulted on a desolate country road.
Three men were charged, but Edmondson was the only one convicted.
Judge Fred Kovatch said he couldn't ignore allegations the girl had been raised in an abusive home. That evidence, he said, supported the defence theory that the girl was the sexual aggressor.
The judge said while Edmondson was convicted of a serious crime, he suspects the aboriginal child was a victim of sexual abuse by a family member.
Family members are outraged. They think Edmondson should be in prison.
Defence lawyer Hugh Harradence says the judge made the right decision. "I think it is justice and it can be defended," he said.
Edmondson was found guilty in May of assaulting the girl in Sept. 2001.
During Edmondson's trial, the girl's underwear was submitted as evidence. Semen belonging to the girl's father was found on it.
The incident has angered the aboriginal community and drawn repeated cries of racism.
The legal age of consent here in Canada is 14. (I looked it up, go to www.yahoo.ca and type in age of consent. There is a website that lists it for all over the world, and even by state)
The girl was 12 at the time of the offense. They gave her beer (beer to a minor) and then had sex with her.
Regardless of if she was the agressor, SHE WAS STILL A 12 YEAR OLD! Regardless of her being willing or not, she was still a kid.
Okay, now I'm going to clam down a little.
Now, if this is a case (and the article doesn't say) of the girl looking alot older then she really is (and we all know some girls look older) and saying she was older and then being the agressor, that's different. That wouldn't be a rape charge however.
I think the judge needs to have his job examined. And the girls father needs to be up on charges as well.
I can think of no way that doesn't bemand the girl being seperated from her father/family that could account for her dad's semen on her underwear. The only way I can think of is if the girls mom and here wore the same size underwear and the same type.
What do you all think? Insufficent information, or brain-dead judge?