The Bay of Plenty Times Weekend reported 69 children aged 8 or under have been sexually abused in our region. Photo / Stock image
The Bay of Plenty Times Weekend reported 69 children aged 8 or under have been sexually abused in our region. Photo / Stock image
There are a number of reasons not to have the death penalty as a potential punishment even for the most serious of crimes.
The number one has to be the fact that justice systems - no matter where in the world - keep throwing up cases where people convicted of murder have been found to be not guilty.
It has happened here too many times to mention and had the death penalty come in to play then Arthur Allan Thomas, David Bain and Teina Pora would have dropped through the gallows trapdoor long before their convictions were quashed, the same in Australia with Lindy Chamberlain.
In the United States there have been a spate of inmates who have been released after serving decades on death row because they have been found not guilty of the crimes for which they were convicted.
Having said that, however, there is one crime that is so reprehensible that it deserves the death penalty.
The recent Bay of Plenty Times Weekend story about abused babies contracting sexually transmitted infections both angered me and turned my stomach.
Just how anyone could do that to an infant or child is beyond me, and anyone convicted of such an awful crime has surrendered their ability to call on human rights protection.
And they deserve to be put down as you would a rabid dog.
But the conviction must be absolutely watertight, with no doubt at all.
Last year 153 children aged 15 and under were referred to Bay of Plenty Sexual Assault Support Service for sexual abuse in the Bay. Of those, 69 were aged 8 or under.
If it is not 100 per cent then the culprit should be given life with no parole, on the off-chance a mistake has been made.
The Bay of Plenty Times Weekend report said a Tauranga-based support service had told of several cases of babies being sexually abused and contracting sexually transmitted infections.
Last year 153 children aged 15 and under were referred to Bay of Plenty Sexual Assault Support Service for sexual abuse in the Bay. Of those, 69 were aged 8 or under.
Eight years and under!
Kylie McKee, general manager of Bay of Plenty Sexual Assault Support Service. Photo/Andrew Warner.
The general manager of Bay of Plenty Sexual Assault Support Service Kylie McKee said sexual abuse was getting worse in the Bay and the types of crimes were "incredibly violent".
The service had seen multiple cases of babies with STIs, such as gonorrhea and chlamydia, from sexual assault.
"It's tough stuff. It's the kind of stuff that makes you sick," she said.
It is disturbing that two-thirds of the referrals involve children.
Crime statistics for the Western Bay showed 74 sexual assaults and related offences were recorded in 2013 compared with 163 last year.
Ms McKee believed reporting of sexual crimes had increased in recent years - therefore boosting the number of recorded offences - but she believed the number of sexual crimes committed was also on the rise.
While there seems to be little we can do about changing the natures of the disgusting perverts who commit child abuse, we can all be vigilant and more aware of the signs of abuse of children.
It's tough stuff. It's the kind of stuff that makes you sick
If we know, or even think it is happening, then it is up to every decent person to step in and confront the issue.
In America recently, a dad caught a paedophile abusing his young teenage son and dealt with it summarily with a physical thrashing of the culprit. He was then handed to the cops.
While I cannot condone such vigilante action (well, not officially) I must acknowledge that, in the same situation, the attacker probably would not make it to the police - other than fleeing to them for safety.
