This is truly Jersey’s shame

Wednesday 24th December 2008, 2:54PM GMT.

From Paul Barratt.
I SIMPLY had to write in response to the two recent articles about the piano teacher convicted of abuse and the stepfather who subjected his daughter to kicking with steel toe-capped boots, as well as inflicting other torment on her.

I was incensed by the sentences handed down by the court, which, in the case of the piano teacher, was three years in jail, and for the stepfather, community service.

What sort of message are we sending out when the punishment does not fit the crime, particularly in view of the publicity surrounding the historic abuse cases earlier this year?

I find the frequency of abuse cases incredible and while it is good to see the guilty brought to justice the abuse of children in such a small island is truly Jersey’s shame.
Les Mares Cottage,
Rue des Mares,
St Martin.