Thread: Australia - Dad Charged For Beating Son's Molester Wake Up

Molester free while dad who bashed him could be jailed

Print Robyn Ironside, David Earley and Neale Maynard
June 18, 2009 09:42am

UPDATE: A QUEENSLAND father who bashed a man caught molesting his 10-year-old son is facing a prison sentence, while the boy's attacker walks free.

In a highly unusual case, Shane Thomas Davidson was spared jail despite pleading guilty to molesting the boy on State Of Origin night last year.

Judge Ian Dearden told Beenleigh District Court the sentence was reduced because the young victim's father had wrongly taken action into his own hands and badly beaten Davidson.

"There is no place in our community for a vigilante approach," he said.

Davidson was sentenced on Monday to a nine-month intensive corrections order.

The boy's father is awaiting trial on one count of grievous bodily harm, which carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.

Child safety campaigner Hetty Johnston yesterday slammed the sentence for Davidson.

"In this case, they've got it woefully wrong," she said. "What the offender did was totally unnatural."

In handing down his sentence on Monday, Justice Dearden said adult offenders who committed sex offences against children must serve actual jail time – unless exceptional circumstances were found to exist.

"This is one of those rare and exceptional cases," he said. "When an individual takes the matter of punishment into their own hands, the offence committed by the person may be far, far more serious and, therefore, have far more serious consequences then the original offence."

The court was told Davidson was at the child's house at Eagleby in June last year to watch the State of Origin match with the boy's father and a few other people.

After the game, Davidson went into the boy's bedroom and began massaging the child's penis under his clothes.

When the boy woke up, Davidson asked the boy to show him his penis and offered to do the same.

The child refused and went to tell his father what happened.

The man then attacked Davidson, dragging him outside, throwing him on to a concrete path where he struck his head and repeatedly kicking him.

Davidson later underwent extensive facial surgery in the Princess Alexandra Hospital.

Yesterday Davidson told The Courier-Mail he regretted what he had done but didn't think it was something he should go to jail for.

"As far as these sorts of offences go, it's pretty minor," he said.

http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/stor ... %2C00.html

Arrested the Father of the boy ????

They shoud have given him a medal and BTW I would do the same thing or worse if I were the father. !!

you better wake up America... this is what the Perverts in the House and Senate and even the King of the Obama~Nation want for you... HATE CRIMES that make the punishment for you, far worse than the Punishment for the Sexual Deviants

Someone is lucky to be alive.

vmonkey56 my sentiments exactly!

THE Attorney-General may appeal against the sentence given to a pedophile who avoided jail because he was bashed by his 10-year-old victim's father.

Shayne Thomas Davidson, 42, of Marsden, pleaded guilty to indecently dealing with a child aged under 12 and was given a nine-month intensive corrections order.

The Beenleigh District Court was told the offence happened in the boy's bedroom at Eagleby after a State of Origin match on June 11, 2008. When the boy told his father afterwards, the furious dad attacked Davidson and left him with serious head and facial injuries.

Davidson spent 10 days in hospital where he underwent surgery to insert 50 screws and several plates in his face.

Judge Ian Dearden ruled that because of the "exceptional circumstances" of the case, Davidson should not have to serve time behind bars.

"There is no place in our community for a vigilante approach or the infliction of punishment outside the criminal justice system," he said.

The boy's father is awaiting trial on a charge of causing grievous bodily harm, which carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.

The case has sparked widespread community outrage and child safety campaigner Hetty Johnston described Davidson's sentence as "woefully wrong".

And yesterday Attorney-General Cameron Dick called for a transcript of the judge's sentencing remarks to determine whether the state should appeal. He has 28 days from the June 15 date of sentencing to lodge an appeal.

Meanwhile, the Liberal National Party's deputy leader Lawrence Springborg said the case highlighted the need for Queensland's sentencing laws to be overhauled "to reflect community standards".

Logic and eloquence aren't what these actions are about, folks.

This is an Australian Case.

Call for a Judicial Review of Judge Ian Dearden. I'm not kidding. The case is about the molestation of a child and getting beaten because of is has no pending on the crime or punishment.

That judge just made up a get out of jail free card. The pervert should serve his full time. That pervert needs to go to jail and meet up with Bubba.

A parent should have the right to defend their child. Clearly this is close to being a crime of passion and was not pre-medicated. More emotional reaction than violent reaction.

Dixie

It gets better:

Amanda Watt
November 18, 2006 12:00am

DISTRICT Court judge Ian Dearden's decision not to jail a teacher who filmed himself fondling a 14-year-old former pupil has been criticised by two of Queensland's most senior judges.

The judges have intervened in the case and ordered the man go straight to prison.

Steven Peter Quick, 29, received a wholly suspended 18-month jail term and a 12-month intensive correction order when he pleaded guilty before Judge Dearden in August.

But the Quick case was considered by the Court of Appeal following an appeal by the Attorney-General on the grounds Judge Dearden's sentence was "manifestly inadequate".

Quick was the girl's former maths and science teacher in central Queensland in 2004 and he subsequently became friends with her.

During the September school holidays he drove the girl to an isolated location near Bundaberg where he filmed himself caressing her breasts.

He later rang the girl and told her to lie for him or he would harm her when he discovered the Crime and Misconduct Commission were investigating the incident.

Judge Dearden imposed the non-custodial sentence after accepting a defence submission of exceptional circumstances in the case.

But in a 2-1 majority decision yesterday, the Court of Appeal set aside Judge Dearden's sentence and imposed two concurrent 18-month jail terms. It ordered Quick must serve three months in actual custody.

In his published reasons, Chief Justice Paul de Jersey said the primary consideration in a case such as Quick's was general deterrence and "community denunciation".

He said the gross breach of trust, large age gap between the pair and Quick's deliberate conduct "strongly supported" a jail sentence while the circumstances relied on by Judge Dearden to suspend the sentence were "not sufficiently unusual" to justify Quick avoiding jail.

Among Justice de Jersey's criticisms of Judge Dearden were that he'd given too much weight to the effect of the events on Quick and not enough to the impact on the victim; had wrongly regarded as relevant a claim that the victim had shown some consent to the crime, and had not given enough weight to Quick's threat to harm the victim.

Justice Richard Chesterman also ruled the circumstances relied on by Judge Dearden to wholly suspend the jail term were not exceptional and said general deterrence in the case was important.

"The sentencing judge here may well have had regard to the need for deterrence but the sentence imposed reveals that His Honour cannot have given it sufficient weight," Justice Chesterman said.

http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/stor ... 02,00.html