A lot of people will be thoroughly disgusted at the mere two and a half year gaol sentence handed down to what could be described as a guilty plea to " urban terrorism ".
A 44 year old father of two devised a plan to extort money by threatening to kill or rape the children of his victims, and went on to describe such horrors as infecting them with AIDS or hepatitis - unless they handed over money. Sixteen families were threatened with this act of extortion - and in one case a sum of $ 50,000 was handed over.
This case takes crime to a new level. The prosecution is satisfied that the perpetrator had no intention of actually carrying out any of his threats, but the psychological damage he caused will stay with some of these victims for the rest of their lives. Some will never again rest easily with the thought that their children are safe from danger.
One of the problems is the fact that this new criminal strategy has been reported in the media. Copycat criminals will now be aware that such a plan netted a rich reward - and brought a minuscule gaol term in comparison with those prosecuted for armed robbery - or even dealing in drugs.
Some people will compare the gaol term handed down with that being served by terrorist groups convicted of planning bomb attacks in this country. In many such cases, no actual attack took place and the crime involved was one of " planning an attack ". What is the difference in planning to bomb and kill citizens - and planning to rape or kill children ?
Crime is an ever evolving clash of minds between criminals and those tasked with protecting society. It is not helpful when the penalties handed down simply indicate a less punitive result if a new form of criminal activity goes wrong.
Criminals notice - when the punishment reflects the seriousness of the crime !
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