14 year old boy

[justineo]

I know it's a bit late in the day but have just heard about the boy who has been accused of assaulting 4 young girls in Salford and feel quite shocked. One of the girls was only 7, what's going on?

[Peri]

Whats the future for this kid.  Can he be rehabilitated?

[jno]

don't suppose we could wait until he's been tried and found guilty, could we? Contempt of court and all that.

[Andy008]

In the week just gone there have been the London bombings, the murder of the girl in Manchester and the incident you refer to.

I have the misfortune to live in Southampton (thankfully not for much longer), and read in the paper yesterday about a gang of thugs who broke into a paddock and battered to death a New Forest pony belonging to a ten-year old boy.

Proof, if ever it was needed, that the real world is a horrible place indeed. I would hope that goes some way towards answering the question.

[chazza]

I remember reading about children in war torn countries learning to rape at the age of 5 or 6, i didnt think this was possible.  thankfully many of them  are getting as much rehabilitation as the victims

[butter1]

Londondave, hear hear!!

Its a sorry state of affairs this world is coming to... reading about things like this brings tears to my eyes.

[smudge]

As parents of two daughters, I wholeheartedly agree with Andy Hughes' last paragraph!

I'd still agree if we didn't have any children.

[BossyBoots]

as the mother of 7 and 5 year old girls, I can say with hand on heart that China has the right idea for criminals.  A bullet in the back of the head, don't waste money on rehabilitation.

[kempie]

londondave - I agree with your sentiments but don't rise to Gef's bait, just ignore him.

Unfortunately, offering his opinion on the worthiness of a thread has been his preferred method of contribution to AB over the last 2� years or more.

[magicbeatle]

Hi justineo, It just goes to show that kids today are getting worse. (Before anyone shouts at me, of course i dont mean all of them) But, When little Jamie Bulger was killed in the early 1990's by other kids we were shocked. Now, if reports are true, we have had two cases of child against child in a week. Coupled with this 'Happy slap' thing it is becoming a part of everyday life. We need tougher laws. If a child is old and strong enough to hurt others they should be treated as adults, no matter how young they are. And adults who seriously hurt, rape or kill others should be done to death. It may not stop everyone, but extreme punishments will deter most. And it would certainly stop the ones who are executed.

[Gef]

Thanks for that kempie. My answer was banned (no problem with that) and apparently so was londondave's (which I never saw). Obviously this forum is only for people who agree with your views. I was, after all, merely giving my opinion of the thread and not making any comment on the events stated in justineo's original question. I suppose I could be flattered by the fact that you seem to have been monitoring my answers over the past couple of years. On the other hand, if you really were you would have noticed that the vast majority of answers I have given have been factual answers - probably in threads you never visit.

[kempie]

No thanks necessary Gef.

I shall answer each of your points.

I had nothing to do with your answer being banned... but obviously AB Ed had reason to remove it. Perhaps your next response should be to critique his actions.

Likewise londondave's was removed for castigating you... whereas I seem to be advocating a more measured response. I suppose I am unlucky that you never read the offending article.

From where do you divine that "this forum is only for people who agree with (my) views"? I respect reasoned argument much more than blind agreement, either for or against my position. But that's just my (worthless) opinion.

"I was, after all, merely giving my opinion of the thread and not making any comment on the events stated in justineo's original question." Do you not see that this is exactly the opposite of what AB is about? Either contribute to the thread or just IGNORE IT.

With regard to monitoring your answers... I like to ensure the facts are correct as far as possible.

A sitesearch using Google did indeed show that you have given many factual answers in various categories (well done, that's what we are supposed to do), however it also shows that you have frequently pontificated on the worthiness of a thread. "Obviously this forum is only for people who agree with YOUR views".

[LeMarchand]

I'd like to echo jno's statement: we don't know that he has actually committed the crimes. Perhaps the girls decided that they didn't like him and wanted to get him in trouble (unlikely, but not impossible - remember the recent "rape" of a child by an intruder).

If he did commit the crime, it is a terrible thing. I do suspect that it's not something that is solely confined to modern life, though.

[El D]

There are people on here advocating the state sanctioned murder of a 14 year old boy - well that is something for this lad to aspire to isn't it.

The world isn't a nice place which makes it even more important to exert our own influence on it and not merely reflect back what we see.