Posted on 08/24/2002 2:50:56 PM PDT by aculeus
A gang rape trial that culminated in one of the longest prison sentences in Australian history has triggered accusations of racism and inflamed ethnic tensions in Sydney's volatile outlying suburbs.
The gang leader, known only as X, was jailed for 55 years for his part in the rapes, which were carried out by 14 youths, all of Lebanese Muslim origin. The group terrorised western Sydney in August 2000, attacking seven women during a three-week spree that was planned and co-ordinated by mobile phone.
The men's ethnic background has been highlighted by police and politicians, who insist that they specifically targeted white Australian girls. The sentence, harsher than the penalty handed down to most multiple murderers, has sparked a furious debate and exposed deep cracks in Sydney's tolerant veneer.
A backlash is already taking place in the deprived western suburbs, which one community leader described as a tinder-box. Muslim women have been harassed, and some have had their veils ripped off. A television camera crew was beaten up outside a mosque after conducting interviews following Friday prayers.
In the arguments raging in pubs and offices, no one disputes that the rapists are wicked and their crimes repugnant. One 18-year-old girl was lured from a railway station and assaulted up to 25 times by 14 men. The trial judge called the ringleader "a menace to civilised society" and said the rapes were of a nature usually seen only in war zones.
What some are questioning, though, is whether the rapes were racially motivated – and whether the punishment fits the crime. Many white Australians were enraged by the notion that foreigners were "raping our women". Police were at pains to point out that the offenders were of "Middle Eastern appearance" and that all the victims were white.
When the first defendants stood trial last year, any racial motive was rejected. But the judge trying the latest batch, Justice Michael Finnane, disagreed. He noted that one victim, according to her testimony, was called "an Aussie pig", while another was told she would be raped "Leb-style". Another girl was asked if she preferred giving oral sex to Lebanese or Australian men.
Those three remarks were enough to convince the tabloid press and much of the public that the rapes were fuelled by hatred of white Australians. Some claimed that the case was proof that multiculturalism was not working. The state opposition leader, John Brogden, said of the ringleader, who was 18 at the time: "I hope he rots in jail." Other Australians are dismayed that the actions of one group of men are being seized on to stigmatise an entire community – in many cases by people who vehemently opposed the arrival of Middle Eastern asylum seekers. The Director of Public Prosecutions, Nicolas Cowdery, QC, has said it was gang culture that fostered the rapes, not race or religion.
Lawyers say the sentence given to X, who was ordered to serve a minimum of 40 years, is disproportionate and, far from acting as a deterrent, could increase the likelihood of rape victims being killed. They point to the age of the offender, who will be over 60 when he leaves jail, and ask how rehabilitation fits into this scheme. The sentence is more severe than the terms being served by some of Australia's most notorious criminals, including Julian Knight, who shot seven people dead on a Melbourne street in 1987, and Jeffrey Hardy, who raped eight children and two disabled adults at knifepoint in 1998.
As some have noted, gang rape is not a new phenomenon in Australia. Perpetrated by just about every community, including the Anglo-Celtic majority, it has been a scar on society since convict days. Many Sydneysiders recall the three Murphy brothers, who abducted a nurse in 1986, raped her for two hours and left her bleeding to death. One detail they probably do not recall is that the Murphys were Irish Catholics. That fact never featured in the case.
55 years is too long. As I opined early, a 3 lb maul properly applied to the major joints of the legs and arms would prove sufficent. They could hobble to their hamburger flipping job and live in a half way house why they pay pecuniary compensation to the victim. I wonder how long before they beg for an end to the life long suffering that they have been sentenced to? At least, they would experience the pain that they have inflicted.
"Sydney's tolerant veneer"
It wasn't long ago that the Aussies had about the strictest immigration laws in the world. The libs changed all that and here we are. The unfortunate thing for the Muslims is that Australia is not France and the ANZACS were never afraid a fight and didn't have white flags as part of their kits.
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