Government thinks home detention is right sentence for raping four 15 year old girls
The Herald reports:
A teenager convicted of raping four girls under the age of 16 has been sentenced to nine months’ home detention – despite a judge acknowledging the consequence would ordinarily be a prison sentence of “many years”.
Jayden Desmond Meyer, now 18, was charged after multiple police complaints by young women in the Bay of Plenty who alleged sexual violence across 2020 and 2021.
An investigation followed, resulting in 10 charges including four of rape, four of sexual violation, and two of doing an indecent act. There were five young female victims, four of whom were raped and one who was sexually violated.
According to district court documents obtained by Open Justice, all five victims were aged 15 at the time of the attacks.
He raped not one, not two, not three but four 15 year old girls.
On another occasion, he filmed the rape of another unconsenting girl.
What a lovely guy.
Meyer, who has no criminal history, pleaded not guilty to all charges but was later found guilty.
If he pleaded guilty and was remorseful, then maybe maybe a case could get made for a non custodial sentence. But he claimed he did nothing wrong, and made the victims go through a trial.
A psychologist, who saw Meyer 30 times during the prosecution, found he had a medium risk of reoffending, and continues to minimise the effect of his crimes.
So he raped four 15 year old girls, denied it, is likely to rape again and is now showing remorse.
And he got home detention!!!!
Both Crown prosecutor Anna Pollett and Meyer’s lawyer Rachael Adams submitted that a sentence of home detention would be most appropriate
Don’t blame the Judge – blame the Government. The Government/Crown did not seek a term of imprisonment for four rapes of 15 year old girls. The Government has a policy to reduce the prison population, so the Government prosecutors reflect that in the sentences they seek.
We now have a justice system that is focused on criminals, not victims.