British Justice is an Oxymoron (VIII): The Case of Michael Peters

A teenager who brutally raped a stranger on wasteland was jailed for just seven and a half years - because the judge seemed to think an apology went a small way towards making up for the crime.

From Kent News:

A teenage rapist who dragged his victim to a dark and secluded area of wasteland has been jailed for seven-and-a-half years.

Michael Peters, 19, from Woolwich, south-east London, also hit the terrified 21-year-old when she screamed before forcing her to perform a sex act on him.

The attack took place in Crayford, Bexley, at about 12.50am on Thursday, April 23 this year.

Peters pleaded guilty to two counts of rape the following month and was jailed at Woolwich Crown Court yesterday.

Judge Charles Byers, sentencing, said: "An apology may give some small comfort to the victim of this dreadful crime but it can never be enough.

"I regard this as a sustained attack because you took a complete stranger off the streets, attacked her from behind and then raped her in a dark and secluded area.

"It must be every woman’s nightmare. You have manifested yourself to be a danger to women."

Peters followed his victim – who cannot be named for legal reasons – as she walked along Station Road, Crayford Road and Whitehill Road, before pouncing on her at the junction with Dartford Road.

He left vital DNA evidence at the scene and was identified and arrested within five days of the offence.

Judge Byers told Peters: "You are as yet a young man but you committed a most unpleasant and horrific crime against a 21-year-old female.

"She had every right to go home unmolested, but instead you brutally raped her.

"You initially denied this allegation but because of the forensic evidence you pleaded guilty and spared your victim the ordeal of a trial and of her having to give evidence in court.

"However, this sustained and planned crime cannot go unpunished. I cannot ignore the fact you are at risk of committing further violent offences."

Peters was arrested following a rapid-fire investigation by Bexley police’s Sapphire Unit, which handles all sexual offences in the borough.

The teenager will now remain on the sex offenders register for life.

Det Con Jivan Saib said: "This was an horrific rape in which the victim suffered an extremely traumatic ordeal.

"The only comfort that can be taken from this incident is that Peters’ guilty plea meant the victim did not have to give evidence in court."

Det Sgt Warren Arter added: "I would like to reassure the public that stranger rapes are rare.

"Bexley has the highest-performing Sapphire Unit in the Met and we continue to arrest and charge sex offenders and put them before the courts."

Yes - and they continue to receive ridiculously short sentences. Behaviour like this is not a small blip or a huge mistake - it demonstrates complete lack of ability to live by normal social rules or feel any empathy for others - in other words, psychopathy.

For something as terrible as this, he should at least be looking at 30 years +, if not life.

But, when Peters gets out he'll still be a young man, ready to destroy some more lives and keep the 'highest performing Sapphire Unit in the Met' in gainful employment. They must wonder why they bother sometimes.