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Law - True Cases 2

Pictures downloaded on Alistair Bruce’s computer involved kids as young as two, and were from the most depraved end of the paedophile scale. But Judge Graham Hume Jones allowed twisted Bruce to escape with a two-year rehabilitation order. Police said they were “frustrated” by the sentence at Taunton Crown Court in Somerset. And Michelle Elliott, of pressure group Kidscape, said, “We should give everyone who does this sort of thing five years in jail. What are the courts saying to people? That child pornography isn’t really that serious?” Judge Jones said his hands had been tied on sentencing because ONLY 12 specimen charges had been brought against Bruce.

But the Crown Prosecution Service insisted he had got it WRONG and could have thrown the book at Bruce, who pleaded guilty. A spokeswoman said, “It would not be possible to indict 300 charges. It would take up a huge amount of time and would not significantly affect the sentence.” Ex-gardener Bruce was held at his home in Bridgwater as part of Operation Ore, which has netted thousands of pervs who used a US web site. Police said the case had been dealt with in accordance with “very clear national guidelines”.

An 11-year-old boy convicted of burglary and theft was caught committing two identical offences hours after leaving the court. The south Wales schoolboy, described by police as a one boy crime wave, made his 152nd appearance at Cardiff Youth Court. He was convicted with two others of taking a car after raiding a house in Cardiff to steal the vehicle's keys. The schoolboy was then remanded into local authority care and ordered not to enter a car without the authority of an adult. He was also placed under a 7pm to 8am curfew but within hours of walking out of court he had broken his curfew and was arrested again for burglary and car theft.

"South Wales police arrested an 11-year-old boy for burglary and theft of a vehicle in the Roath area of Cardiff," a police spokesman said. "The boy is a persistent offender and in our view poses a serious danger to the community. South Wales police will continue to apprehend and arrest youths who are intent on committing crime, particularly when an individual can harm innocent members of the public." And, presumably, the courts will immediately release them back onto the streets.

Two boys who admitted smashing ornaments on 150 child graves in the baby section of South Bristol Crematorium, cannot be prosecuted by police because they are under ten years of age. A spokesman said, "The children, who are both under the age of criminality, cannot be prosecuted for this offence and therefore no more action will be taken by the police in connection with this matter." The parents of the two have issued an apology to families of the babies whose graves were damaged in the attack. Parents are apparently not responsible for their off-spring. If the two had failed to attend school however, the parents would be liable to a £5,000 fine.

A court rejected a 60-year-old man's attempt to invoke the ancient right to trial by combat, rather than pay a £25 fine for a minor motoring offence. Leon Humphreys remained adamant that his right to fight a champion nominated by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) was still valid under European human rights legislation. He said it would have been a "reasonable" way to settle the matter. Magistrates sitting at Bury St Edmunds had disagreed and instead of accepting his offer to take on a clerk from Swansea with "samurai swords, Ghurka knives or heavy hammers", fined him £200 with £100 costs. Humphreys, an unemployed mechanic, was taken to court after refusing to pay the original £25 fixed penalty for failing to notify the DVLA that his Suzuki motorcycle was off the road. After entering a not guilty plea, he threw down his unconventional challenge. Humphreys, from Bury St Edmunds, said, "I was willing to fight a champion put up by the DVLA, but it would have been a fight to the death."

 

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