Women get 40% lighter sentences in criminal courts in the US. But this figure is also valid in almost any European country, regardless whether we’re talking about a EU member state or not.
In Romania, the Criminal Procedure Code explicitly states that female offenders that are serving a life sentence can get parole if they’ve served at least 20 years in prison and have a minimum age of 60, whilst male offenders in the same situation need to have a minimum age of 65.
This principle of gender equality with respect to the law only in terms of rights and not in terms of obligations and responsibilities is omnipresent throughout the Romanian jurisprudence.
The same principle of blatant misandry and no accountability applied last month in a case from Hunedoara following an ongoing instance of child abuse perpetrated by a male and a female.
The local press’ article reads as follows[1]:
The Hunedoara court has decided to issue a preemptive arrest warrant on the name of Alin Sav, the 27 year old man prosecuted for rape and producing child pornography. The man, alongside his wife that is also a defendant in this case, has corrupted a 13 year old minor with which they had sexual intercourse. The girl was then blackmailed not to press charges. The judges from the Hunedoara court have decided to issue a 29-days preemptive arrest warrant for Alin Vasile Sav whilst his wife, Cătălina Sav, will be prosecuted in a state of liberty because she has a 3 year old child that she needs to take care of.
In Romania (and in general in all countries that use the Roman jurisprudence) there is no institution of ‘bail’ and it’s up to the judge whether the alleged offender awaits trial in prison or out and whether the offender poses a risk to society or not.
Apparently, there’s nothing wrong with leaving a child rapist out near another child. Nobody in Romania (except me on my blog[2]) said anything or even lifted an eyebrow following this decision. If there were two men and one of them were to walk free because he has a child, everyone would have rightfully asked: ‘What the hell are you doing?’ because everyone could’ve seen that it is irrelevant whether the individual has a child. What’s relevant is whether that individual broke the law.
I called this woman a child rapist because the article from the local press gets stranger. And it reads as follows:
Initially, the minor was persuaded by the couple to have sexual intercourse with Cătălina Sav. These acts took place in a house owned by the offenders on the country side. ‘They promised the girl that they will make pornographic material that they will use to make a lot of money’ said Victoriţa Povarnă, who is the prosecutor in this case. ‘The girl bought their story as her family was in debt, but the couple then used the recording to blackmail the girl.’ – added the prosecutor.
Therefore, the first act of statutory rape (or sexual perversion with a minor – as it’s called in the Romanian Criminal Code) was committed by the female offender. Moreover, these videos are now in the hands of the Police, videos that depict Cătălina Sav and the 13 year old girl having sex.
Consequently, rationally speaking, there was a huge probable cause to put them both in jail awaiting trial. Furthermore, they have both been charged of exactly the same offenses.
But, somehow, when a female rapes a kid it’s not ‘THAT serious’. Moreover, the articles from the local press tells us at the end how much does Alin Sav risk to spend in prison but it doesn’t tell us how much Cătălina Sav risks. Maybe the journalists are already aware that Cătălina Sav might not go to jail at all or, best case scenario, will get a 5 year sentence in a minimum security prison and will get out after 2.
There were numerous similar cases in Romania in the last 10 years and only one of them ended with the female offender serving equal time with the male offender. Basically, virtually every female rapist walks scott free regardless of evidence or the provisions of the Criminal Law.
It’s been more than 29 days since that article in the local press was published. Alin Sav is still in jail and the trial was postponed whilst Cătălina Sav is still out there in the world. Albeit there is a video of her committing sexual perversion with a child, nobody questions whether she is indeed the appropriate person to take care of another child.
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[1] http://nou.zhd.ro/article/arestare-orgii-sexuale-cu-minor%C4%83-filmate-pentru-fi-postate-pe-internet
[2] http://vilo13.blogspot.ro/2012/10/violam-impreuna-dar-platim-separat.html
