Whether it is the anal rape of young boys or the vaginal rape of young girls, when a rape accusation surfaces in the media it immediately generates headlines. What is surprising is how few such prosecutions go to trial and those that do usually receive far less punishment than the public expects.
At the moment, the "Girl X "case is ruffling feathers in New South Wales. Back in 2012 this fourteen year old was a resident in a care home because she had "needs ". She worked part time for a local cafe owner and she told her boss of being regularly raped by a twenty-six year old care attendant, who regularly stayed overnight on "sleepover "shifts. Her boss phoned the Care home and reported this claim to management, but it seems that no action was taken and the matter lapsed.
Sadly,when her increasing age removed her from the protection of a care home she gravitated to the use of illicit drugs, and she has subsequently died of a drug overdose. However the DPP have DNA evidence that links one of two care workers to the alleged rapes and it seems that this offence may be wider spread. The police also recovered explicit photos of other girls in the care home. The scientists claim that this DNA proves guilt on the basis of a hundred billion to one - and yet the DPP has refused to take the matter to court.
What is unclear is whether this rape was forced upon this young girl or whether a twenty-six year old male in a position of authority groomed the girl for sex and ran something of a harem in the care home. What is important is that a ward of the state below the age of consent was subject to illicit sex by an employee tasked with her protection.
We have seen a litany of those in authority choosing to look the other way when sex is concerned. All the churches have a shameful record and it is still not positively clear that future offences will be automatically referred to the police. It is quite probable that many sex offenders take the risk of satisfying their sexual needs on those under their care simply because the odds of getting away with it are in their favour.
That is why it is important that the DPP take all and every opportunity to bring these cases to court. Sex is one of the prime motivators of the human race and we will never totally stop sexual abuse, but the knowledge that offenders will face the full force of the law and receive consistent punishment may cause many to have second thoughts.
It is quite probable that the DPP is receiving pressure from the government to hold back on prosecutions. We have a vastly overcrowded prison system and sex offenders usually need separation from the general milieu. In many cases prosecutions now involve very old men who have offended in their youth and housing them creates problems. Sentencing is evolving towards short time in prison followed by a lengthy rehabilitation curve.
In this lurid rape of "Girl X "in a care home the lack of a prosecution despite ample evidence is not delivering the hoped for message to other young men who find they have compliant young girls at their mercy as part of their job procedure.
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