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A furore has erupted after it was revealed that a judge failed to imprison nine men and teenage boys who pleaded guilty to gang-raping a 10-year-old Aboriginal girl.
Australian Judge Sarah Bradley said the victim "probably agreed" to have sex with the men, who were from Aurukun, a
violence-plagued Aboriginal community on the Cape York peninsula of northern Queensland.
She also noted that even prosecutors in the case had not asked for custodial sentences.
Amid accusations of a gross error of judgment, there were calls for Bradley to be sacked.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said last night: "I'm disgusted and appalled by the reports that I've seen in today's newspapers on this case.
"As I understand the attorney-general's position, he is examining the case further. I await his determination on that."
The Australian newspaper, which broke the story, said in an editorial: "As the nation struggles to confront the horrors of child sex abuse on indigenous communities it is almost beyond belief that nine people can plead guilty to having sex with a 10-year-old girl but no one is sent to prison."
Child sex abuse campaigners said the sentencing delivered an alarming message to potential offenders in Aboriginal communities.
Last night the Queensland Government announced it will review all criminal sentences in Cape York communities from the past two years. Premier Anna Bligh said she was concerned the sentence could be part of a trend in the region.
Queensland Attorney-General, Kerry Shine, said he would appeal the sentences and was "horrified" by the case.
He said that under Queensland law, a child under the age of 12 cannot consent to sexual intercourse.
Shine called an urgent meeting with the state's Director of Public Prosecutions to discuss what he described as the "extremely lenient" sentences.
The 28-day appeal period had expired, but an extension might be possible, Shine said.
"I'm horrified by the circumstances of this incident as has been reported to me," he told ABC radio. "It seems to me that the circumstances of the offence were quite horrific and it therefore leads me to believe that the sentence was extremely lenient and to say the least, needs explanation."
He said Aborigines were entitled to expect the same "justice outcomes" as people in the rest of Queensland.
The offenders pleaded guilty last month to the crime, which was committed in Aurukun in 2005. Of the nine, six juveniles aged 14 to 16 were placed on 12 months probation with no conviction recorded. Three older men, aged 17 to 26, received suspended six-month jail sentences.
In her sentencing remarks Bradley, a Cairns-based District Court judge, said: "I accept that the girl involved was not forced and she probably agreed to have sex with all of you.
"But you were taking advantage of a 10-year-old girl and she needs to be protected. This is a very serious matter. It is a very shameful matter and I hope that all of you realise that you must not have sex with young girls."
The oldest rapist, 26-year-old Raymond Woolla, is on the National Child Offence Register following a conviction in March 2006 for unlawful carnal knowledge of a female child - an offence committed after he was charged with the rape of the 10-year-old girl. The girl, now aged 12, has had to be removed from Aurukun and placed in foster care.
The offenders come from some of the leading families in Aurukun, an isolated coastal community which often erupts into rioting and clan violence. Two weeks ago, men armed with knives and spears engaged in a mass brawl, watched by around 200 onlookers.
In September, a crowd of up to 200 people pelted houses and cars with rocks and lit fires, prompting the state government to send police reinforcements from Cairns. More than 20 people were arrested as a result of the violence, which was blamed on alcohol and feuds between rival families.
