So this is just gross. 2 years less a day? REALLY?

Lenient sentences do not go over well with me. In fact they don't go over well with most people...except judges apparently. Well, not all judges I guess, but this sentence is just plain wrong. Using the excuse of "his upbringing" as an argument to lower the sentence is again, just plain wrong. I know this doesn't have anything to do with child porn as the Mennonites don't have the Internet do they??? I mean no electricity to plug in the computer to look at child porn - you would think these types of actions by this guy wouldn't happen. These kids, these poor kids. I'm grossed out by the actions of this guy. Here's an article by the Guelph Mercury with the details:

April 23, 2009
It was hard for a judge to ignore a young Mennonite man's upbringing when he decided against sending him to a federal penitentiary.
Justice Norman Douglas sentenced a 21-year-old Waterloo Region man to serve two years less a day at the Ontario Correctional Institute in Brampton yesterday.
The man, who can't be named to protect the identity of the victims, pleaded guilty in January to two counts of sexual interference.
"I do that knowing it's an extremely light sentence," Douglas said of his decision. "It is at the lowest rung of the ladder."
Two years less a day is the maximum reformatory sentence that would keep the 21-year-old out of a federal penitentiary, Douglas said.
If anyone feels he's wrong, his decision can be appealed with the Ontario Court of Appeal, Douglas said.
The judge explained that it's not that he's treating the Mennonite community in a special manner, but he does have to take into account the young man's "upbringing and naiveté."
"What would happen to him if he went to a federal penitentiary?"
Between January 2004 and December 2005, the Mennonite man allegedly tried 11 times to have sexual intercourse with a five-year-old girl, according to court documents.
The accused lifted up the girl's dress, rubbed against her, ejaculated on her and tried to penetrate her.
Between January and September 2008, there were five occurrences with his seven-year-old cousin where the accused exposed himself and tried to penetrate her as well.
In March, court heard, the Mennonite man had been excommunicated within his community, meaning he couldn't take communion at church and was shunned at social situations.
Several community supporters, three women in floor-length black gowns and white headpieces, as well as eight men in black suits, came to hear the judge's decision yesterday. When leaving the courthouse, they politely declined to comment.
Douglas also ordered the Mennonite man to serve three years of probation when he was released. He is to stay away from public parks, swimming areas, daycare centres and other similar places where there would be children under 14.
tdharmarajah@guelphmercury.com