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| Robert from Newcastle Robert was 13 when he first targeted Millie (victim's name has been changed) in 1997. They were next door neighbours whose respective parents became involved in a petty confrontation, resulting in her parents reporting his to police. Robert took it upon himself to victimize 11-year old Millie in retaliation. He began to bully her, which progressed to his one day committing a minor common assault against her including, she alleged, an indecent assault. She pressed charges, but during the case the indecent assault charge was dropped by police due to a lack of evidence. Robert was sentenced to a 12 month Supervision Order for common assault. During and after the case she would often see Robert, who continued to display extreme hostility toward her; justice professionals however did not consider his hostility to be of abnormal concern. The second attack took place when she was 13 and he 15; he came into her home, knowing she was alone, and sexually assaulted her. During the violent attack, she suffered a broken arm. She alleged that on this occasion he had raped her, but again the charge was reduced to battery. Robert was found guilty and sentenced to 18 months in a young offenders' institution. He served two-thirds of his sentence, during which time Millie moved with her family to a different part of Newcastle. During his time in custody, Robert's hostility toward Millie continued to increase; he continuously blamed her for his incarceration, expressing hatred and threatening to harm her upon his release. He failed to express any remorse to tutors, and even cited her new address to one of them, indicating that somebody outside had obtained it on his behalf. In this period Millie's behaviour deteriorated. She became unresponsive to her parents' discipline, developing an eating disorder, and beginning to self-harm with razors. She told a counsellor she felt let down by the law, which she felt did not believe her allegations. Immediately after the attack she became reclusive, and would not leave the house alone, although by the time Robert was released she had began to wander locally to the shops etc. - she continued to truant. She was not informed of Robert's release, and only knew when she next encountered him. He was in her local park one early evening with two friends, as she returned from the local shop a few hundred yards from her home. He began to shout at her and she immediately ran. The boys were on bicycles and easily caught her - Robert tripped her with his wheel. As she was on the ground the three boys began to kick her body, and Robert assaulted her with a brick, hitting her at least once in the head. They threw her over a low wall separating a small wood, and continued the attack out of sight of the park. Then the three of them sexually assaulted her, and as his friends restrained her, Robert raped her. After the assault she was left semi-conscious in the wood, and had to crawl to the nearest house she could see for help, arriving a full three hours after leaving for the shop. Although they were arrested immediately, Millie refused to tell anybody she had been raped, later claiming she felt she would not be believed. It was only after she broke down emotionally that her mother discovered the offence and persuaded her to report it. She was found to have used a razor to cut the words "raped by Robert" on her arms. His defence was that he had been high on ecstasy and remembered little about the offence. He was sentenced to 7 years in prison for rape and ABH; his accomplices received 4 years each. Whilst inside for just under 5 years, Robert became addicted to heroin. He undertook a Sex Offender Treatment Program (SOTP) but failed to complete it due to a lack of any apparent remorse. He continued to display hostility toward Millie, though indicated that he wants nothing more to do with her as she has ruined his life. He was released in 2006, and is banned from entering Newcastle until his sentence expires in 2009 - his family have told him they will report him if he attempts to. Millie suffered severe depression and psychotic outbursts following his imprisonment. In 2002 she was twice sectioned under the Mental Health act. She remained a regular out-patient of the psychiatric unit until she eventually left Newcastle. This case is a particularly distressing one, and it is unlikely it will fail to invoke a reaction from the reader. We want to know your reaction to the case and the justice dispensed - all mails are welcome. Does the case initially make you sad or angry? Perhaps you feel Robert needs help, not villification. We want to know your thoughts about the sentence, why you think it, and what should have happened differently; no reply is too brief or too long. You may simply want to praise or condemn the professionals involved, or express empathy with Millie. Please contact us now, by clicking on the "VERDICT" link to the right.
Readers' Responses - 17/06/09 - Mrs K. Nurse, Leeds; "IT MAKES ME SICK THAT LAWS IN THIS COUNTRY FAIL TO KEEP PEOPLE LIKE MILLIE SAFE. IF the first Minor Assault had been dealt with more severely, maybe Millie would not have gone through more. On the second attack – no way in hell should this have been Battery. When he showed no remorse, he should have had no reduction in his sentence and should have had it extended for Millie’s safety. She is the one who should have rights, not him. He should not have been released until he understood his thought process was wrong, and the main focus should have been keeping Millie safe. A third time?! - Our laws should find this totally unforgiveable, and he should have been given a longer sentence. Then, by not completing the programme, he should again have lost his right to be released early and his sentence should have been extended. If he does not accept he ruined her life, and thinks it is vice versa, then he is not of sound mind and should never be released - he should be in a mental hospital. He should be left under no illusion that if he ever as much as looks at Millie again, he will go away for life. I hope one day he gets a sentence from a higher power, and spends eternity in hell, and that Millie’s family get to be his judge. I also hope one day that Millie can forgive this country for letting her down so appallingly, and finds peace in her heart." | |
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