Remember this face .......................

[sheepshagger]

Spy - and potential paedo's that come forward and discuss the fact that they have these feelings (and I am sure there are people who do) should be treated with respect, talked to and ultimately yes we should try to understand why they want to do this.

A paedo who is normal in every other way and doesn't stop himself doing this - kill them

Someone who is of a lower mental capacity and is found to have done this should be securely locked away forever, or at least until the doctors have worked closely enough with that individual to make sure that they are CERTAIN (and if they cannot be certain then there can or should be no release) that they will not act in this way again.

OK - i agree that these people in this category should not be killed - but again we need to think about the victim not the offender - and regardless of whether they have a lower capacity to think, they should still be punished and locked away to stop them doing this again.....

[jonny72]

The guy picking up a fifteen year old scenario isn't a very good one though is it. It is not strictly rape surely. If she is in a pub or a club and has consensual sex then surely a bloke can safely assume she 18 or at the very least 16. Or should he check her birth certificate first? Technically she shouldn't be there in the first place if she's 15 surely?
Are we not getting away from the point of this thread again though? Lets turn it around. The bloke at the start of this thread knew full well what he was doing and has shown absolutely no remorse for what he has done. Do you think 5 years is enough? What would be an appropriate way of dealing with this scum, in your view? Understanding and a nice cup of tea?

But you can't agree to consensual sex under the age of 16, so legally it is child abuse which would mean the automatic death penalty. Obviously this would never happen in a lot of cases, but I'm just using it as an example of how the death to all child abusers is flawed.

As regards the original subject of the thread. No one found guilty of child abuse should be freed unless there was 0% chance of them re-offending, if that means them being detained for the rest of their life then so be it. The minimum amount of time they are detained and where they are detained (prison or psychiatric ward) should depend on how aware they were of what they were doing and it being wrong.

For someone who just gets their kicks from kids, then its prison all the way for a long time. At the other extreme, for someone whose actions were solely and directly as a result of mental health problems then its straight to psychiatric ward until they're better.

[warksred]

But you can't agree to consensual sex under the age of 16, so legally it is child abuse

For clarity regarding The Age of Consent (Sexual Offences Act 2003)

The legal age for young people to consent to have sex is still 16, whether they are straight, gay or bisexual. The aim of the law is to protect the rights and interests of young people, and make it easier to prosecute people who pressure or force others into having sex they don't want.

For the purposes of the under 13 offences, whether the child consented is irrelevant. A child under 13 does not, under any circumstances, have the legal capacity to consent to any form of sexual activity.

Although the age of consent remains at 16, the law is not intended to prosecute mutually agreed teenage sexual activity between two young people of a similar age, unless it involves abuse or exploitation. Young people, including those under 13, will continue to have the right to confidential advice on contraception, condoms, pregnancy and abortion.