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Promoted from the diaries by streiff. Promotion does not imply endorsement.
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I HAD hoped to bring good news for my first piece, since joining Red State, to provide further insight regarding the state of the modern Conservative mindset in Great Britain. Noting the figures below, however, were too deplorable not to be discussed.

I’ll begin with clarity. I don’t want to be misunderstood or understated. It isn’t radical or maverick to understand that those who possess child pornography are one-step removed from acting on their desires, nor to understand that paedophiles understand that they are breaking the law when possessing such material.

The apathetic nature and lack of reaction to the release of the 2017 jailing figures for those doing so is yet another sad indictment of the further social erosion – if not the largest indicator of all – within the UK and culturally conservative foundations; ultimately designed to protect the family unit.

Figures released officially disclose that 3,609 individuals were convicted in 2017 of possession of ‘obscene material’; most convicts being caught downloading videos or pictures of prepubescent children being raped and/or molested. Of the 3,609 convicted after arrest, just over 20% (755) were given any form of immediate jail sentence. A ‘conversion’ rate so low that it hasn’t been lower since pre-2010. This is during a Conservative Government. This is an unmitigated disaster and a clear indication of the lack of dedication to protecting our children in the UK.

A clinical deterrent would clearly be to provide a guideline that downloading and/or possessing child pornography would come with a mandatory (and minimum) sentence upon being found guilty at trial. There can be no leniency when the implications are far more reaching – the abused who are recorded for such morally-depraved material are often abused physically far beyond the scope of the camera.

“A clinical deterrent would clearly be to provide a guideline that possessing child pornography would come with a mandatory sentence”

 

Community service, suspended jail terms and (often lax) conditional discharges along with fines are simply no deterrent – yet more importantly of no protection – to those who are the most unprotected and defenceless within our society. I would urge a Conservative Government, if reelected, to impose a mandate for mandatory immediate sentences for those convicted of downloading and storing such heinous material.

Peter Saunders, a sexual abuse survivor, of the National Association for People Abused in Childhood, said the offences were not ‘soft’ crimes. ‘We mustn’t deflect from their seriousness and the reality that kids’ lives are utterly devastated in order to make these images,’ ‘To view such images is akin to carrying out the physical act itself.’ he added.

David Spencer, of the Centre for Crime Prevention, stated: ‘The revelation that downloading child porn does not see offenders being sent straight to jail will sicken the British public.’ It should have, yet there has been almost no mention of this, far removed from any backlash.

A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: ‘Online child sexual exploitation is sickening and offenders who take or distribute indecent images already face ten years in prison – with record numbers given prison sentences in 2017.’ This does not consult the causation nor the exposure that abuse victims face. It is time for a major, yet simple overhaul.

Such core issues are vote winners and would enable us to be one small step closer to the rehabilitation of the protection of the family unit.

JH – 27/09/18

Twitter: @JamesHasThought