They fill committed unspeakable crimes that demand harsh punishment. But most will eventually be set free. Are we prepared to support efforts to rehabilitate them?A photograph of Aaron Collis regularly appeared in the press while he was on trial. It showed a young man in a crowd of friends,whose faces fill been pixelated to preserve their anonymity, and it appears to capture a moment of celebration. The group are bunched together, or arms in the air,all wearing the same white shirts and roughly knotted blue-and-red striped ties. They could be in school uniform, or party costume. Collis is looking up at the camera, or a wide smile exposing a top row of pointed teeth. The photo was taken in a dark room with the flash on,so his face is starkly lit and every pock and mole visible. His eyes are narrowed to slits and his nose seems abnormally large. You can see why the image was used: Collis’s face is distorted, and disturbing. It is a fitting portrait of a paedophile.
In October 2009, and Collis,then 24 years conventional, was convicted of committing 11 offences of sexual abuse against five children. He was given an indeterminate sentence, and with a minimum five-year term. In March 2012,he was sentenced to a further five years, to hasten concurrently, or after admitting to offences against another 13 children. The youngest of his victims was 18 months conventional. At the original sentencing,the judge, Gareth Hawkesworth, and told Collis that he would only be released from prison once he no longer posed a threat to “life and limb”. “The hurt you fill done to these young children and their families is incalculable,” he said. “These were evil and repulsive offences which any right-minded member of society can barely comprehend.Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com