Sentencing disparities in child-sex-assault cases point to double standard
Women in Colorado convicted of sexually assaulting a child in their care are far less likely to go to prison than men sentenced for the same crime.
A Denver Post analysis of sentencing data provided by the Colorado Judicial Branch shows that of the 2,128 men convicted of sexual assault on a child by a person in a position of trust from 2006 through 2010, more than 50 percent were sent to prison.
Of the 79 women convicted of the same felony offense, 38 percent went to prison. A little more than 39 percent of female defendants in that same period — 31 — were put on intensive supervised probation. Less than 35 percent of men were given the same sentence.
Experts who have studied the issue say those statistics are mirrored nationwide and show a clear disparity between how male and female teachers, coaches and babysitters are treated when they are convicted of sexually abusing a child.
With women, the victim is often a young or teen male in her charge, and too often the abuse is seen as less traumatic and almost a badge of honor for the boy, said forensic psychologist Katherine Ramsland.
“There is still a double standard out there, and it’s almost a joke
No matter how much we yearn for equality of punishment between sexes in sexual assault cases, the fact is that the vast majority of us recognize that a boy is much less likely to be psychologically harmed when sexually assaulted by a female teacher than a girl by a male teacher. It is how we are culturally, but the law wants to be applied equally to all. It’s a dilemma, but there it is, and the punishments meted out, reflect our beliefs.
Unfortunately, I’m not sure that the statistics are wrong. From the data it looks like woman who are abused suffer more. Either way, the one thing we do know is that when someone is a sexual predator the chance of them rehabilitating is miniscule. As such, these criminals must be taken out of our communities.
Like any other crime, these cases need to be judged on an individual basis due to the circumstances. I am strongly opposed to mandatory sentencing guidelines for any crime, sex crimes included, because often they end up misapplied in cases where they are clearly inappropriate, and a technical violation between a pair of teenagers where there is a one month discrepancy concerning age of consent is punished as harshly as if a 30 year old man was having an inappropriate relationship with a 14 year old, or where cases of “inappropriate touching” on the buttocks through clothing is punished as harshly as actual rape. Every case needs to be judged individually.
It would have been helpful if the study factored in the ages of the victims, and whether an abuser is likely to get a heavier sentence if the victim is a small child, as opposed to an adolescent.
“Judgement error” – no wonder these women are getting off so lightly. This isn’t a judgement error = this is predatory behavior and the fact that women who commit these crimes are often claimed to have low self esteem and the boy involved is identified as the predator is a big part of this problem. A pervert is a pervert. If a woman hits on a boy she should suffer the same punishment as a man. Just cause she’s “pretty” and often the men are not (sorry but true) should not factor into the equation. The next time a woman is accused of such a crime and her attorney claims she is the victim that attorney should be disciplined.