A form of justice we can believe in.
Judge Jonathan Durham Hall QC has gained our respect this week by showing an admirable level of empathy towards a teenage survivor of underage sexual abuse.
He was presiding over a case involving a 15-year-old girl who had stabbed a 56-year-old man five months previously. He had sexually abused her when she was eight years old.
Bradford Crown Court heard that the girl, who cannot be identified for obvious reasons, was arrested in November after going to the paedophile’s home with a knife.
She allegedly told the sexual predator “I am going to kill you,” before stabbing him. She then handed herself in to police and was arrested for murder, which was downgraded to grievous bodily harm with intent.
Judge Durham Hall spared the 15-year-old prison time, as well as a mandatory victim surcharge.
He then stated: “If anyone tries to force you, I will pay it myself.”
