Carnatic Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 to clarify, anything that is an offensive weapon is illegal... this includes Mace, it includes guns, knives, crowbars of course... and also could include a simple kitchen knife if you were using it in a way simiar to a weapon (e.g. concealing it where you can whip it ourt quickly) the penalty is 5 years in prison. The police are unarmed, except for Special Ops (like SWAT teams) and Airport security. In fairness the guy who tried to rape Jenn was, as far as anyone can tell, unarmed. And British accents aren't all 'hugh grant' style plummy accents that sound like they butter wouldn't melt in their mouth... Some British accents make Al Pacino sound like a * * * * * cat. stupid block... a p-u-s-s-y cat Link to comment
Scorpion Fury Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 i know this sounds bad, but i can't picture a guy with a british accent being dangerous. maybe b/c i've never heard a scary one? not to make light of what happened of course. just something i was thinking about. lmao. i was thinking the same thing. Link to comment
diabolik Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 And British accents aren't all 'hugh grant' style plummy accents that sound like they butter wouldn't melt in their mouth... Some British accents make Al Pacino sound like a * * * * * cat. stupid block... a p-u-s-s-y cat ^^^ As an American who has lived in the UK, I can attest to this. And as I noted earlier, the fact that most people didn't want to help doesn't surprise me after having lived there. Link to comment
Mavh25 Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 ^ I think its the same in alot of places, not just england. Link to comment
Carnatic Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 my view on it is that most people see something like this and pretend it isn't intruding into their little world 'it's probably just a domestic, she probably did something to deserve it'. The homeless guy has seen the real world, he lives in it and he knows abduction/rape when he sees it... he also has no cosy little world to retreat back to and pretend this isn't happening... he may even have experienced or at least seen this sort of thing happen himself. In short his basic humanity hasn't been dulled by our cosy consumering culture. Link to comment
greywolf Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 ^ I think it might have been more of the 'bystander effect.' Link to comment
jengh Posted July 23, 2009 Author Share Posted July 23, 2009 Thank you for the words, everyone. It's very much appreciated! I didn't get to give a statement today...get this, I have to wait until SATURDAY!!! Sigh, not even going to mention about how irritated I am with that. I just woke up from a mini-coma. I've just been totally and completely exhausted. Link to comment
Parsley Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 The homeless guy has seen the real world, he lives in it and he knows abduction/rape when he sees it... he also has no cosy little world to retreat back to and pretend this isn't happening... he may even have experienced or at least seen this sort of thing happen himself. That's a fantastic point, I've never though about that before. ILMBC - It's good that you're sleeping, I think you should do it as much as you need to over the next few days. Forgetting about the emotional effect for the moment, your body will have experienced such a huge shock, you'll need the rest. One of those times you just have to listen to what your body wants I think. My cat sends hugs! (Seriously, she was sitting next to me and started pawing at the screen and clambering all over my laptop, rubbing herself over the screen, the second your post appeared.) Link to comment
jengh Posted July 23, 2009 Author Share Posted July 23, 2009 Awwww, sweet kitty!!! That's always been a help for me, when I get stressed, or something bad happens I'm always able to sleep it off. Link to comment
greywolf Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 Thank you for the words, everyone. It's very much appreciated! I didn't get to give a statement today...get this, I have to wait until SATURDAY!!! Sigh, not even going to mention about how irritated I am with that. I just woke up from a mini-coma. I've just been totally and completely exhausted. Call the newspaper. This guy is on the loose while the cops take their sweetass time. Link to comment
Parsley Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 Well I reckon Potter sensed that in your time of need. (you're very privileged btw, she'll barely touch me) I'm glad you're able to sleep, I'm the opposite, anything worries me and I can't sleep a wink! Spoil yourself as well. Eat the stuff you want, when you want (though I do foresee some problems with craving something from home that we don't have here and watch films and do all sorts of nice spoiling yourself things. Dedicate some time to you! xxx Link to comment
jengh Posted July 23, 2009 Author Share Posted July 23, 2009 Well I reckon Potter sensed that in your time of need. (you're very privileged btw, she'll barely touch me) I'm glad you're able to sleep, I'm the opposite, anything worries me and I can't sleep a wink! Spoil yourself as well. Eat the stuff you want, when you want (though I do foresee some problems with craving something from home that we don't have here and watch films and do all sorts of nice spoiling yourself things. Dedicate some time to you! xxx Thanks We got a ton of take-out pizza and such... watching Peep Show now, just relaxing. Link to comment
annie24 Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 excellent post. and i completely agree with reading "The Gift of Fear." that is an excellent book that everyone needs to read, especially women. something that i have learned as a woman and traveling abroad a lot is to look like you are going somewhere, if you are alone. In Morocco, they call it "The Camel Walk" - nose high in air, head up, not listening to the catcalls or comments of men on the street. When i am alone, and walking down the street at night, i look as though i have purpose, as if i need to get to work, go to a friend's house, whatever. if someone tries to talk to me on the street, i ignore them. if you are sitting upset after a fight with your boyfriend, some guy is going to see you as a target. And i'm not trying to blame you or your bf, not at all. Just pointing out that a crying girl sitting by herself might be the kind of target that someone who is up to no good would look for. regarding no one helping, belladonna's link had a very good explanation. I knew a guy who one time saw a man hassleing a woman in a bar, and my friend decided he would tell the guy to knock it off. Well, the guy decked him, the girl spat on him, and walked away. My friend was on the floor with a concussion. He told me he would "never stand up for a woman's honor again." People may have thought they saw a lover's spat, not necessarily an attempted rape. Especially if it is around bartime, people act rowdy and a bystander doesn't know if it's a joke or what. Or they might have been concerned with their own safety instead. Now, if a team of football players was walking down the street, they might have done something (strength in numbers). if it was just one person walking alone, they might be afraid to get involved (as i have been too). and do look up what is and isn't legal to carry in England. don't break any laws while you are there. you don't want to be caught and placed under arrest in a foreign country. yikes. Link to comment
KG Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 My ex G/F used to carry a can of oven cleaner when she traveled cross country. I can't imagine what that would feel like! Idea Jenn? Link to comment
Carnatic Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 actually I have an aerosol of wasp-eze (for relieving wasp stings). While it's nice to get advice on ways she can protect herself in the future, I never intend to leave her alone like that again... and I can fight off most average men... also if we're in my car there will be a crowbar and a can of WD40 in the boot. What's most important now is that we can move on... try to get closure for this (report it to the police, locate the witness and have this guy locked up for a long time).. right now I'm hoping we can plan a weekend of the sort we would be hoping to enjoy even had this not happened. Link to comment
dragon lady Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 actually I have an aerosol of wasp-eze (for relieving wasp stings) Wouldn't that be a little too soothing? I think oven cleaner would be a bit harsh. Do you want to permanently blind the dude? You could probably get in a lot of trouble for that. Link to comment
Carnatic Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 dunno, I think if you look at the bottle it warns against getting in eyes... we also have deodorant and hairspray... and my home-made mace, using alcohol and birds-eye chillies. I'm at work, trying to do work can't concentrate though, all I want is closure for this incident. Fortunately work doesn't come thick and fast where I am, I work for the city. I am using my contacts to find out if the area she was abducted was CCTV covered, which would be useful to know before telling the police on saturday. We already have exact times. I just need some kind of closure before I can move on, I don't know about Jenn, she needs my support more than she need closure I think, but she is at home, asleep right now so I can't support her, so I don't feel so guilty about spending my time here being such a psycho about bringinig the guy to justice. UPDATE: Just spoken to someone from the city... there are definitely CCTV cameras covering the area she was taken from and it is highly likely that the abductor has been caught on camera several times... my strongest hope now is that he is known to the police and this will progress to a speedy conviction/sentencing. Link to comment
EQD Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 homeless kittens in america are usually less 'good samaritan/humanitarian' than the ones in england i guess. you have a better class of hobo roaming your streets. the ones here knife you with a sharpened down spork they found in taco bell parking lot. Hobo: "Gimme Yerr bubble guummmm!" *slight pirate accent (most think they are pirates of the black pearl) Civilian: "Wha-wha-what?" Hobo: "Yarrrr, hand it over or be dead with yee" *begins poking civilian with sharpened plastic utensil* Civilian: "But its in my mouth..? AHH! Stop that!" Hobo: "I'll be takin this out on yer family tonight if you dont hand it overrrr" Civilian: "Alright alright take the damn gum!" *spits gum at hobo and it sticks firmly on the dirty man's crinkled face* Hobo: "Top of the mornin to ye..... yarrrrr" *walks off leaving civilian poked and confused* Link to comment
Carnatic Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 OK I'm looking into UK law on assault, attempted rape which are the most likely offences the guy will be charged for, I want to know what the courts take into account when convicting and sentencing. If the police charge the person, the Crown Prosecution Service will provide legal support to the victim and take the case to court to seek conviction. If it is rape or attempted rape the victim may choose not to appear in court in person. Assault and attempted assault are treated the same and whether or not the victim has incurred physical injury (she hasn't) are disregarded... thus the defendant will be charged for assault. Also the following factors which were present in this case will be treated as aggravating factors leading to an increased sentence: - deliberate targeting of a vulnerable victim (i.e. a young woman sat alone upset) - location and timing of the offence in an isolated place (there was noone else around at the time, it was late, he took her to an even more isolated area) We need to make sure the police are aware of these factors... so far we would be looking at a potential 5 year prison sentence for assault but could be as low as 12 weeks if judged as common assault rather than ABH... I think we have a case for ABH judging from the pain caused to her back and head from being manhandled. The court may also issue a compensation order, ordering the convict to pay the victim up to £5000, this I don't know much about. As for rape, there is some confusion as to whether this is attempted rape, (treated the same as rape), or sexual assault... either way, if the guy is known to police and been convicted for rape in the past then there will be a mandatory life sentence with no possibility of parole. And I'm really sorry, I know this is not what people/ILMBC want to hear about when she is recovering and everyone is telling me to move on, but I am mega-anxious and I can't let this go. just to show justice can happen: link removed Link to comment
Perfect Dark Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 Jenn- I am really sorry this happened to you, it's awful. I hope the guy gets caught. I hope you can manage to enjoy the rest of your visit. Link to comment
hers Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 Will, you are making it worse for jenn by making it seem you are the victim here. You don't need closure on this. She does. You need to support her. You are stressing her out. Please stop pitying yourself and remember she's the one who went through this, not you. Link to comment
jengh Posted July 24, 2009 Author Share Posted July 24, 2009 I can't handle this. Seriously. I need to just let it all go. I'll go in and make my statement... but anymore than that... I can't... the talk about CCTV, going to court, lawsuits... It's too much!!!! Link to comment
Catdancer Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 Damn Will, are you OCD or something? Jenn doesnt want you researching all this crap and speculating and talking about court. Just freakin drop it. Cant you see that you are making it worse? Come on man, quit being a drama queen and take care of your girl. Take her out to dinner and to the tequila bar tonight. Jenn take a nice hot bubble bath and get all dolled up so that when Will gets home you guys can go have some fun! And for god's sake...do not mention this incident AT ALL tonight. Forget it and enjoy your time. Link to comment
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