The 21-year-old defendant, CaIum, forced the 5-year-old girl to testify against the abuser after pleading not guilty to r-pe charges. And, what even worse is the girl’s trauma didn’t matter to the judge, who let her attacker received lenient sentence. The victim’s family was left speechless and devastated after a judge handed down an unjustifiably gracious sentence to 21-year-old CaIum. Unfortunately, the 5-year-old victim, who was not identified due to her age, has had to endure not only the distressing effects of the attack and the harrowing court process, but she now has to deal with the fact that her r-pist received little more than a slap on the wrist.
According to the court documents, the 21-year-old defendant was charged with r-ping a 5-year-old girl, he had the option to spare his young victim the anguish of facing him and giving evidence in court of the heinous abuse she had suffered. Of course, he pleaded not guilty, prompting the family to make the difficult decision to allow their little girl to testify, hoping that it would earn him an even harsher penalty. The defendant was found guilty of r-pe of a child under 13, which is a very serious crime especially for cases in which no plea deal is granted. Unfortunately for the victim and her family, all of their efforts returned void when they heard the judge’s sentence at the court, per reports.
The defendant was sentenced to just 3 years of community service and 35 days in a rehabilitation facility. He was also fined $268 and ordered to pay his victim’s family $3,350 in compensation. He is required to register as a s-x offender for only 5 years. Understandably, the victim’s mother broke down upon hearing the sentence. She said, “I ran out of the court and slammed the door behind me, as I walked out of the court I just shouted ‘it’s a joke’. I see no justice for my daughter in this.” The victim’s mother explained that her daughter is no longer the happy little girl she once was, but she added that her daughter summoned enough courage to relive her abuse in order to condemn her attacker. She said, “She’s been incredibly brave, she gave evidence at the trial and everything. I’m immensely proud of her.
She’s one of the bravest little girls I’ve ever met.” The mother admitted that the ordeal has destroyed her family. Despite family counseling and therapy for her young daughter, they are suffering from the aftermath of the child’s abuse. “We’ve had to have counseling, it’s ruined our lives. It separated me and my partner because we both didn’t know how to deal with it so we took it out on each other,” she said. “She will get over this but she will never forget it. It will always be there but she’s not the sort that is going to let it ruin her life. She still smiles every day and gets on with life. She does wet the bed but we’re going through counseling to try to sort that out. She has difficulties forming relationships with strange men in her life, obviously.” The only consolation the family has is that their daughter is so resilient. The brave little girl has expressed that she wants to give all the money from her compensation to the poor. Incredibly, the horrific attack hasn’t diminished her heart for others.