4 ms·

>Trying minors for "more serious offences" is a thing just about everywhere. And not locking them up, i.e. "letting them go" is a thing in just about every civ

>Trying minors for "more serious offences" is a thing just about everywhere. And not locking them up, i.e. "letting them go" is a thing in just about every civilized country. >Would you feel the same way if he'd actually followed through on his rape threats? I'm sorry, but this is ridiculous. There isn't a single mention of "rape" in TFA, you're discussing a 15 year old kid possibly threatening someone on a different continent.

deleted 9y ago
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krapp 9y ago
He bombarded Mr Johnson and his wife with calls, asking her: “Am I scaring you?” and left messages threatening to “bang his daughter”, the court heard. Unless you want me to believe he was threatening to "bang" Mr. Johnson's daughter consensually, it's a rape threat.
- ryanlol 9y ago
  It is a stretch to describe that as a rape threat. I don't believe a native English speaker would choose that wording to convey a rape threat. And again, if this was a rape threat it was a very unclear rape threat by a 15 year old kid on another continent. Not something any sane person would treat particularly seriously. Honestly, this sounds more like something along the lines of "I'm going to bang your mom", with the "mom" replaced. No sane person would assume that "I'm going to bang your mom" is a rape threat, but rather a threat of embarrassing you by engaging in sexual relations with a close family member.
  - krapp 9y ago
    > Not something any sane person would treat particularly seriously. ... because the person making the rape threat disclosed that they were on another continent so as to assure his victims and minimize psychological harm? I understand he's sympathetic because he shares the same anti-US government bias that many HN users have, and anyone with a computer and a hate-on for the Feds is a hero around here, but it shouldn't be impossible to concede that what he did was not merely a harmless prank, but a crime that deserves something more than a mere slap on the wrist and tousle of the hair.
    - jimnotgym 9y ago
      > I understand he's sympathetic because he shares the same anti-US government bias that many HN users have, There is something else here. The UK and the US have very different criminal justice systems, I have noticed a definite 'bias' as you put it against the US system on HN[0]. It has been noted, for instance in the far to long running Lauri Love case, that the UK is much more lenient to young computer hackers that the US. Perhaps it is not bias, but simply different cultures? [0]https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16171239 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16171239

deleted 9y ago

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krapp 9y ago

He bombarded Mr Johnson and his wife with calls, asking her: “Am I scaring you?” and left messages threatening to “bang his daughter”, the court heard. Unless you want me to believe he was threatening to "bang" Mr. Johnson's daughter consensually, it's a rape threat.

ryanlol 9y ago
It is a stretch to describe that as a rape threat. I don't believe a native English speaker would choose that wording to convey a rape threat. And again, if this was a rape threat it was a very unclear rape threat by a 15 year old kid on another continent. Not something any sane person would treat particularly seriously. Honestly, this sounds more like something along the lines of "I'm going to bang your mom", with the "mom" replaced. No sane person would assume that "I'm going to bang your mom" is a rape threat, but rather a threat of embarrassing you by engaging in sexual relations with a close family member.
- krapp 9y ago
  > Not something any sane person would treat particularly seriously. ... because the person making the rape threat disclosed that they were on another continent so as to assure his victims and minimize psychological harm? I understand he's sympathetic because he shares the same anti-US government bias that many HN users have, and anyone with a computer and a hate-on for the Feds is a hero around here, but it shouldn't be impossible to concede that what he did was not merely a harmless prank, but a crime that deserves something more than a mere slap on the wrist and tousle of the hair.
  - jimnotgym 9y ago
    > I understand he's sympathetic because he shares the same anti-US government bias that many HN users have, There is something else here. The UK and the US have very different criminal justice systems, I have noticed a definite 'bias' as you put it against the US system on HN[0]. It has been noted, for instance in the far to long running Lauri Love case, that the UK is much more lenient to young computer hackers that the US. Perhaps it is not bias, but simply different cultures? [0]https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16171239 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16171239