JUDGE BLASTED FOR LETTING PAEDO WALK FREE

JUDGE BLASTED FOR LETTING PAEDO WALK FREE A PERVERT who sexually assaulted two young girls on an allotment, telling them he was brushing spiders off them, has walked free from court – because jailing him was ‘unfair’ on his family. The victim’s family have blasted Judge Mark Lucraft for being ‘too lenient’ and ‘living in cuckoo land’ for handing Gary Karn a suspended sentence. The 48-year-old from Norwich was found guilty of three counts of sexual assault against a child under 13 following a three day trial, in which the seven and eight-year-olds had to give evidence. Karn inappropriately touched the girls as they picked raspberries from bushes at his allotment last September. He told them he was brushing spiders off them but was found out after one of the girl’s told their mother that he had put his hands down their trousers and up their tops. But rather than jailing him, Judge Lucraft suspended Karn’s 18-month sentence for two years and banned him from working with children for five years. He was also ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work and was given a five-year sexual offences prevention order. Karn asked for six counts of possession of extreme pornography to be taken into consideration, arising from DVDs found at his house during a police search, and a single count of possession of indecent photographs of a child. Yet Judge Lucraft, who was sitting at Norwich Crown Court last week, said an immediate jail term would unfairly affect Karn’s family. He said: “I have to consider the impact on them: people who are not in any way at fault yet might suffer serious hardship from your actions.” It followed mitigation whereby Karn’s offences were described as ‘opportunistic’ by the defence. Jude Durr branded the incident as a ‘moment of madness’ and said a prison sentence would punish Karn’s family as much as him. “Imprisonment will almost certainly lead to him losing his job. If he loses his liberty and they lose their house, that would have pretty dev

Other great stories
BEAR AND FOX IN SHOWDOWN

This is the moment a nimble red fox and a lumbering Alaskan brown bear were locked in a tense stand-off .

STUNNING CONTRAST OF ENGLISH SETTINGS

CONTRASTING settings reveal some of England’s most beautiful landscapes in all their glory .

N-ICE DAY FOR A CLIMB

CLINGING onto nothing but ice, this brave climber reaches heights of 1000 FEET as he scales frozen solid waterfalls .

£34m TAX FRAUD RACKET JAILED

A man who conned tax officials out of £34 million and funded a lavish lifestyle of luxury hotels and restaurants has been jailed for one of the longest sentences in British criminal fraud history .

AIR OF THE DOG: HILARIOUS FLYING POOCHES

FLYING through the air, these delighted pooches pull their best poses mid-flight .

UNDERWATER DIVING DOGS

WITH A STERN look of determination on their faces, these adorable pooches perfect their doggy paddle as they dive head first into a swimming pool .

INDONESIAN TRIBE UNTOUCHED BY MODERN LIFE

An Italian photographer travelled to the highlands of New Guinea where he met an Indonesian tribe untouched by the modern world .

FUNERAL COMPANY MAKE DIAMONDS FROM CREMATED REMAINS

SPARKLING bright inside their box, it’s hard to believe these diamonds are made from the cremated remains of the deceased .

GIRAFFES DUCK FOR COVER

DIPPING and diving their way through this bumpy journey, these giraffe's duck for cover as they dodge multiple cables and wires .

OKLAHOMA TORNADO

Destroyed buildings and overturned cars are seen after a huge tornado struck Moore, Oklahoma, near Oklahoma City, May 20, 2013 .

RECORD BREAKING WATERMELON

AN American accountant has grown the world's biggest MELON and smashed his way into the record books with his mammoth 350 .

ADORABLE SQUIRREL GETS READY FOR A SNOWBALL FIGHT

ROLLING up snow in its tiny paws, this little squirrel is looking for a snowball fight .