A judge ruled that a West Yorkshire pedophile deserved a tougher sentence due to his victims being Asian–not white.
According to The Daily Telegraph, Jamal Muhammed Raheem Ul Nasir was convicted of two counts of sexual assault on a child under 13 and four counts of sexual activity with a child, which saw him jailed for four years by Leeds Crown Court.
Ul Nasir, 32, was found guilty of sex attacks on two young girls, committed in December 2014.
The Daily Telegraph reported that the “judge who jailed him, Sally Cahill QC, specifically said that the fact the victims were Asian had been factored in as an “aggravating feature” when passing sentence.”
The rationale behind the tougher sentencing was the particular “shame” suffered by the families of the victims with the Asian communities, due to the nature of the crimes committed against them.
Judge Cahill went onto say that there may be cultural concerns as their chances of a successful arranged marriage may be dampened as their image of being a “good catch” made be damaged.
However, due to the tougher sentencing, Ul Nasir, of Liversedge, West Yorkshire, had his lawyers argue at London’s Criminal Appeal Court against his lengthier prison sentence.
Mr Justice Walker, rejected the complaints, saying: “The victims’ fathers were concerned about the future marriage prospects for their daughters.
“Judge Cahill was having particular regard to the harm cause to the victims by this offending. That harm was aggravated by the impact on the victims and their families within this particular community.”
After the case, an NSPCC spokesman said: “British justice should operate on a level playing field and children need to be protected irrespective of cultural differences.
“Regardless of race, religion, or gender, every child deserves the right to be safe and protected from sexual abuse, and the courts must reflect this. It is vital that those who commit these hideous crimes are punished to the full limit of the law.”
Following from the ongoing grooming gang scandals, which have spanned several decades, rocking many UK towns, the bulk of the victims have been predominantly white British girls.
The authorities have been exposed in turning a blind eye to the industrial scale of the abuse across several councils.
The ethnic component in the grooming gang scandal has been a feature which the authorities and press have desperately attempted to neglect or downplay.
But it appears that some victims are more equal than others.
