Did these French pedophile parents get a proper sentence?

[Lawrence of Arabia]

you can bet the prisoners in the modern day ÃŽle du Diable will take care of them.

[Alexander's Horse]

Originally posted by notyoueither

nobody told them these things shouldn't be done

In what sort of bass ackwards part of the script from Deliverance could that be true?

many underprivileged areas would have pockets of this kind of depravity

[notyoueither]

Depravity. That's an interesting word. Doesn't it evoke the idea that the people involved should have known better?

[notyoueither]

Or is the argument that they are not well paid, therefore they should get away with serial rape of infants?

[Alexander's Horse]

keep trying

[Omni Rex Draconis]

Some were illiterate and appeared not to fully understand the charges they faced

nobody told them these things shouldn't be done

In what sort of bass ackwards part of the script from Deliverance could that be true?

Exactly my thoughts, NYE. An extreme case of mental deficiency could explain it, but a "deprived background" simply cannot.

And if they didn't know it was wrong, why the code?

I'm usually content to lock up criminals to prevent additional wrongdoing, but in this case I think France should save the money and terminate these monsters.

[Alexander's Horse]

If you link this up with the Brussels paedophile case and the people smuggling and vice that has been going on since the fall of the Soviet Union, Europe has a major problem.

I also think the decline of religion in Europe has had some pretty nasty consequences because parish priest and pastors once gave people like this a moral compass.

[DanielXY]

Yeah, because ppl. of the church never got involved in child abuse...

[LDiCesare]

If you link this up with the Brussels paedophile case and the people smuggling and vice that has been going on since the fall of the Soviet Union, Europe has a major problem.

I also think the decline of religion in Europe has had some pretty nasty consequences because parish priest and pastors once gave people like this a moral compass.

I strongly doubt this is anything new. If you read the classics, you'll find many references to people loving little boys. Priests don't have a very good track record in this area either, as DanielXY pointed out.
As for people smuggling, it used to happen on a much larger scale (slavery). I also doubt this is limited to Europe.

[Alexander's Horse]

I have read the classics and agree on one level there is nothing new here, which has been the tenor of my posts actually.

There is certainly sex abuse in the church and always has been but I'm talking broadly - the majority versus the minority - today we have people caught in generational welfare dependence who have no moral compass, no leadership or guidance about right and wrong, no affiliations. Institutions like the church once provided this, as by the way did things like trade unions in socialist areas or even the communist party, which was very straight laced on morals. So sections of society are adrift and it is no surprise to me that problems like this fester in overlooked pockets.

I also don't think this problem is confined to Europe but with the collapse of the communist world there are special challenges for Europe - you only have to look at cities like Naples, which was always crime ridden and poor but now is a centre for people trafficking, sex slavery and the like from Eastern Europe. You get the impression that social order and cohesion have broken down in parts of Europe because of this and it is putting pressure on even advanced countries like France.

[Kaak]

i think they should be castrated and then hung. or guillotined since it is france

[Mr. Harley]

First, there are many so-called pedophiles, at least in the USA, that have been duly convicted and spent decades in jail that were not guilty. Soliciting reliable testimony from children without leading them to say what you want is one of the most difficult processes in the modern judicial system. Once the numbers get that big, I get very suspicious given the US experience. I'd want to see the evidenciary process used by the French prosecutors - the Napoleanic code is very favorable to them.

However, for the sake of argument let's say they were guilty as charged. Let's also grant the premise of the quotes AH highlighted - nice job of picking out very germane info . Are the jail sentences reasonable? It depends on your purpose.

A) Retribution (vengeance). The hardest criteria to use. It that is the case, that is based on societal norms as well as the gravity of the offense. They seem more or less reasonable, given our general lack of knowledge. I am curious is French prisons are as rough on pedophiles as those in the USA. Anybody know?

b) Prevention. Hard to tell. Again, it's as much art as science to determine which pedophiles can be reintegrated into society, safely. I have a tendency to want to lock people like that up forever, because that is the ultimate prevention. However, in the USA I think the number is only one in five pedophiles recommit, though the problem is that includes statutory rape (consenting sex with an adolescent).

If the four out of five figure is correct (which came from a US prison warden interview, not exactly a liberal source) at least in USA money that is a cost of $150,000 (five time $30,000) to keep all five locked up, four unnecessarily. What is a reasonable cost, does the chance to reoffend go down with time, and how many kids who have survived abuse be helped with that money if it was diverted to treatment? With a zero sum tax revenue game, the answer is not as simple as I would like.

C) Rehabilitation. Can a pedophile be rehabilitated? Yes, but that one in five number is a problem. Do the French have more, less, or an equal amount of experience in the field? No idea. Can these individuals be rehabilitated. From the lack of moral compass and the perpetrators age, I would doubt it. However, that is my gut reaction of how horrific the case is. Given their lack of mental acuity, they actually may be easier to rehabilitate. I don't know.

The same problems I noted above apply here. Plus, in the area of cost, the four rehabilitated will contribute four salaries to society. However, how many people can that fifth person abuse, and how much will the treatement of each cost? No easy answers.

In the US the fact of spoiled voters whining about taxes, when I've just demonstrated that these decisions are very expensive, compounds the problem. You cannot even discuss the issue, or your statement will be cut and spliced and attack ads will show that you are all for raising taxes. Add in our war on drugs and the expense, and we will continue to release pedophiles. No easy answer about the sentences without the context of the situation in the home country.

[SpencerH]

Hang em High

[TheStinger]

I do not believe for a second that abuse of children is any different in the US than in europe. unfortunately its been going on for years and always will. what can change is better monitoring, treatment and alert sytems to spot children in danger.

[Spiffor]

In answer to the poll: I don't know.

At least, this trial looks like it hasn't been a witch-hunt. And the judges seemed to have done their actual job, instead of being inquisitors (we had a terrible farce two years ago, as a "large pedophile ring" was put in jail, whereas most of the accused were innocent).