July 15, 2010 5:24 PM BST
Trans woman spared prison over child abuse images
By Staff Writer, PinkNews.co.uk • July 14, 2010 - 13:20
Laura Voyce was spared serving time in a men's prison
A trans woman found guilty of downloading indecent images of children has been spared jail by a judge who said it would be an "appalling experience" for her.
Laura Voyce, 20, of Kirkby, Merseyside, was convicted of 14 counts of downloading indecent images of children.
Some of the images were classifed as level four – the second most serious. These included semi-naked children being abused.
Voyce faced nine months prison but Judge Lesley Newton said she could not be kept safe and instead imposed a nine-month jail term, suspended for a year, and 100 hours of unpaid community work.
Judge Newton said she was satisfied Voyce had downloaded the images for "perverted sexual gratification".
But she added: "I take these offences very seriously; these are real children who are being abused so that people like you can look at them.
"Frankly, you deserve to go to prison, but I can't bring myself to send you to prison, entirely because I think prison would be an appalling experience for you.
"I do not see how you could be kept safe in a prison environment with the best will in the world on the part of those who run such establishments."
Voyce, who is engaged to be married and currently transitioning from male to female, pleaded not guilty to the offences.
She claimed she viewed the images to help her come to terms with her troubled childhood and gender issues and her solicitor told the court she had developed a "disrespect" for her body, leading to it being used by other people.
The sentence was attacked by children's charity Kidscape.
Kidscape founder Michelle Elliott told th Daily Mail: "This ruling is absolutely absurd.
"It sends out entirely the wrong message that this transsexual's feelings are more important than the emotions experienced by the children in these images who have gone through this terrible abuse.
"I do not care whether he ? is heterosexual, transsexual, gay, lesbian, whatever, she should have gone to jail."
There are provisions made for transexuals being imprisioned,
I always wonder tho, why the media still use the incorrect gender descriptive. and this verdict makes it appear we are above the law for dubious reasons.
July 16, 2010 1:30 AM BST
not a good day! read ur blog cristine, feel very sad. finding it hard to cope with p.c. legal think! for a judge to feel that a transgender person can be spared of severe prision time, for crimes of sutch baffles me, there's allways hollaway! just another jolly good press item to make us more acceptable in the REAL world!!!!omg! thats my rant over love sabini xoxo
July 16, 2010 3:50 AM BST
Since you mentioned "There are provisions made for transexuals being imprisioned" , I don't see why they didn't "toss her sorry ass in jail" then.
Perverts come in all genders!!!
"and my needs entwined, like ribbons of light...and I came through the doorway, some where... in the night"
July 16, 2010 4:57 PM BST
Kiddie porn? Really? Throw her ass in a deep, black hole...
July 16, 2010 8:15 PM BST
agree 100%
July 17, 2010 1:11 AM BST
Hi Cristine,
I don't know which I hate more, the light sentence for the pervert, or how bad that makes all of us look to the general public. Talk about a no win situation.
Best,
Melody
July 17, 2010 2:35 AM BST
Melody
In all sections of society, one will find, the perves, the recidivist, the druggies, the abusers. whatever, we seek equall recognition, that goes both ways, this person should have been made to do their time irespective of gender. One can accept that probably per capita of grouping there is less crime comited by our particular group than any other. Its the overly PC handling of this case that does us no favours. There is no excuse, for suspending the sentance, would the judge have done the same if it was an armed robbery, murder? There is in place provisions for the incarceration of transexuals. Once again the judiciary has made an arse of themselves.
July 17, 2010 3:33 AM BST
Politically Correct does not mean "Correct." It is used as a beating stick to force Social Engineering down our throats!!
Too much damage has already been done in the name of being "Politically Correct."
"and my needs entwined, like ribbons of light...and I came through the doorway, some where... in the night"
July 17, 2010 2:55 PM BST
Funny, I would have thought prison was supposed to be an “appalling experience”.
You questioned the media’s use of gender descriptive, Cristine, but it seems on this occasion they got it right; using only the “she” pronoun in the article. The person from Kidscape giving the quote though says, “He (question mark…)” and this would appear deliberate, as if to say “he/she/whatever…” but does go on to say, “She should have gone to jail.”
If it’s true that people in prison for such crimes are targeted by other prisoners I imagine a TS convict may be in danger of being killed, and can only assume this is the judge’s line of thinking.
I say equal rights for trans people though, this story doesn’t do our image any good at all.
xx
July 17, 2010 5:10 PM BST
Wouldn't you know it? They get the pronouns right in a kiddie porn case. *facepalm*
Z
July 17, 2010 6:19 PM BST
Did the judge just let her off then? seems a bit unrealistic to me.
July 17, 2010 10:29 PM BST
No, Penny:
"...Judge Lesley Newton said she could not be kept safe and instead imposed a nine-month jail term, suspended for a year, and 100 hours of unpaid community work."
July 17, 2010 11:21 PM BST
Penny, seems like the Judge was using whats known as " Common Sense", summat that's in rather a short supply!
Lol xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Anna-Marie
July 18, 2010 6:16 PM BST
Thanks for pointing out the bit I missed. Do you know if she was given the 1 year suspended sentence to allow her to get a GRC and in turn be submitted to a women’s prison?
July 18, 2010 7:31 PM BST
Penny. xXx
9 months sentance, suspended for a year, that means, if she comits another crime worthy of imprisonment, in theory she would get the new sentance plus the 9 months added on, but here in the UK, unlike, I believe it to be in the USA she would do her sentance concurrent, which means if she got another nine months for another offence. she would still only do 9 months, less remission of 40% so do probably about 4 months, whereas as I under stand it in the USA she would do the full i8 months, plus extra for bad behavour. Dunno how the parole system works in the USA, I think you have to beg for it. Quite right to. they seem to take more account of punishing the crims and looking after the victims when it comes to locking people up.
July 18, 2010 10:35 PM BST
Hi Cristine.
I have been holding back on this as it just makes me sick , the fact she is transsexual should not be used as an excuse not to lock her up as she done a filthy discusting unforgiverble crime , i wonder if she was ever raped the rapist maybe could get away with it pleading "well she was trassexual so its ok to rape her" , i don,t think so!.
I would say the judge was thinking more of the cost of protecting her?? , in the unlikely event that was ever to be proved then judge shoud join her in prison .
Hugs Julia xx.
July 19, 2010 11:00 AM BST
Hiya,
For me, the punishment for the crime also has to be appropriate for the criminal. A knuckle dragging bully would probably laugh at a 4 month sentence where it would probably kill her. I think it is good to see the judge make a weighted decision despite such criticism from people who may not have weighed up all the factors accordingly.
Each crime has a sentence that is deemed suitable. A convicted paedophile is no more a criminal than someone convicted of speeding and both crimes have punishments.
Much Love
Penny
x
July 19, 2010 11:29 AM BST
“A convicted paedophile is no more a criminal than someone convicted of speeding…”
Since speeding is not a criminal offence I have to disagree with that. As someone who has previously been caught out by speed cameras, I consider myself much less of a criminal than a paedophile, and thankfully so does the law.
Maybe I’m just being pedantic, but I really don’t think people caught driving at 34mph should get the same treatment as a convicted paedophile, or be considered “equally criminal”!
In reference to an earlier comment by you, Penny. I do wonder to which prison, male or female, this person would have been sent. The article implies she is pre-op, let’s suppose this is the case and that she doesn’t have a GRC; should she have gone to a male or female prison?
And if she was pre-op but did have a GRC, should this make any difference? If she was post-op but without a GRC, does the law say she should go to a man’s prison?
xx
July 19, 2010 1:32 PM BST
I do think you are being extremely pedantic Lucy. The points Penny made were very clear. No wonder I get into such heated discussions when simple stuff like this is dissected to ridiculous levels.
1. There are rules (laws), and not obeying them is a criminal offense.
2. Not all crimes are equal in severity and therefore punishment will vary based on severity.
3. The behavior of the person disobeying the rules, including past behavior, needs to be taken into account when handing out punishment, ie., habitual criminals receiving longer sentences.
The bottom line point Penny was making was everything needs to be considered.
And yes, speeding can be as bad of a crime as a pedophile if the speeder is reckless, therefore endangering pedestrians and other vehicles on the road. A vehicle is a 1-2 ton weapon moving down the road.
Penny's line of questioning in this thread was very reasonable as she sought to learn as many details about the case as possible before reaching any conclusion on the matter, rather than jumping to a conclusion based solely on what the resulting punishment was.
Hugs,
Marsha
July 19, 2010 3:59 PM BST
Hiya Lucy, I think Marsha pretty much sumed up my meaning and thanks very much for that Marsha xxx. You are right that speeding is not a criminal offence and doesn't warrant a criminal record, but only until said speeding kills someone like a child or a child's parent. To reiterate my meaning in a different way, breaking the law is breaking the law regardless of what law is broken and the courts and judges attempt to treat everyone fairly and appropriately.
I used the speeding comparison simply because often people say to the traffic police "Why don't you go and catch some real criminals" and the simple answer the traffic coppers use is "We are!"
Lucy, you posed a very interesting question regarding her legal and transitional status in respect to which prison she would have been sent to. It would be nice to know if a policy has been set out in law or if it is down to the judges discretion considering precedences.
Love
Penny
x
July 19, 2010 5:09 PM BST
There is a policy, and various statutory rights, mostly the emphasis being on the definition of ' '''Under recognised mediical supervision
July 19, 2010 7:49 PM BST
Hi Cristine,
If my memory isn't failing me, didn't you post something about UK law requiring appropriate (ie, safe) confinement of TG persons. Any idea why this judge didn't follow that law?
Best,
Melody
July 20, 2010 4:45 AM BST
in the usa (in principle) prison is supposed to be a"rehabilitory" experience as much as a punishment. in practice this is rarely the case, people convicted and sentenced for less serious, and non-violent crimes, tend to learn a more criminal mentality, meet all the wrong people, and many are turned to an even darker side of life.
pedophiles are classifed (generally) by the "seriousness" of the offense, and the likelihood of repeat offenses. many are considered by modern psychology as sociopaths with little chance of rehabilitaion. some of the most serious are committed to mental institutions, and all, regardless of the "seriousness" of the offense, are required to register as sex offenders, with resulting limitations on jobs they can hold, places they can live, and even people they are legally allowed to associate with.
I would be curious to spend some time reading up on the uk's laws in this regard.
July 20, 2010 5:37 AM BST
toni has mentioned the Rehabilitation and Punishment aspect to the Justice System but there are other aspects as well.
1) The example given to the public when jail terms are not considered "a joke" because of their "Shortness"
2) Minimum time served in many cases should be long enough to act as a deterrent and the use of concurrent sentences should be more commonly applied.
In many cases, repeat offenders (especially for violent crimes) cost society far more Suffering, Legal, and Court costs than if they had been given longer Prison Terms. There comes a time, when the "revolving door" has to be shut on some criminals.
"and my needs entwined, like ribbons of light...and I came through the doorway ...some where... in the night"
July 20, 2010 11:31 AM BST
Whilst the Human rights act is wonderful in many ways, now its inhuman and un pc to basically kick arse. ....... Think I need to go and chill, think out a more reasoned response. regarding crime and punishments, especially crimes involving children.
July 20, 2010 2:14 PM BST
Hi Cristine
That is so true! i have spent the last few nights going through pages and pages of papers from the European court of human rights , i was sickend when i came across the case of Gisberta Salce Junior' where were her human rights? and where are the childrens human rights and many others ?.
As i was sexualy abused by one of my teachers at 11 years old for shouting out in class " I am a girl not a boy " i have to just be thankfull it was a one off .
These poor children must live a life of absolute hell and the sick basd#rd perverts who do what they do should all have there sick sex drives removed from them in anyway possible . I can still remember crying everytime i saw the innocent and angelic faces of Holly and Jessica on television then wanting to smash the telly when i saw Huntleys grinning face on there , i can,t say anything else makes me want to cry x.
