He’s an abuser, but he means well!

He’s an abuser, but he means well!

A man who has sexually harassed his own daughters received a reduced sentence due to “his positive behavior during the trial process,” local media reported on July 16.

The man has abused his daughters, one of whom aged nine and the other 11, for years.

He told them he would kill them if they told their mother.

The father’s semen was found on one of the girls’ pajamas, and despite this, his sentence was reduced.

The court first handed down a sentence of 37.5 years in prison, but after taking into consideration his “good manners and behaviors” in court, it reduced the sentence to 31 years and three months.

Former Family and Social Policies Minister Fatma Betül Sayan Kaya had spent her term repeating that “reducing sentences” based on the so-called “good conduct” would be canceled entirely. One can say that not a single step was taken in this direction.

A murmur rises each time there’s news that an abuser’s sentence was reduced over so-called good conduct, and then nobody cares. We all know very well that this inglorious man is not the only example in the country having had his sentenced reduced after abusing a victim.

A teacher at a vocational high school in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır recently abused one of his students. The victim’s father then took the case to a court.

The abuser, the “teacher,” admitted to his crime, and said he was not pleased with the court.

“I made a mistake. The judicial process should abide by the shariah of Allah. Instead of taking this case to the shariah law, I have given it up to Allah’s mercy and consideration. Let’s take the case to the shariah rule, and if I am found guilty, I am ready to die,” he had said.

The court that was not appreciated by the self-confessed abuser said “he is psychotic, but he means well if you get to know him.” The court upon this reduced the sentence to four years and eight months from the initial 12-year sentence.

A teacher at a private school texted one of his 14-year-old students saying he wants to have sexual intercourse with them in an utterly disgusting way.

I really do wish I could say he was submitted to court, but the man did not even make it there.

His testimony was taken upon an order. He did not attend a single hearing, yet he received a reduced sentence upon his “good conduct.”

“That the suspect has a clean record and based on his personality that has reflected onto the case and considering his tendency toward committing crimes, he would refrain from committing crimes in the future...” a note said. With the note, the announcement of his verdict was postponed.

A system in which there are excuses for an abuser to get a reduced sentence over a so-called good conduct, even if that person has harassed someone in the mosque yard...

A system in which someone who has victimized his or her daughter, grandchildren, students... And in which that person gets an abated or reduced sentence based on this so-called good conduct...

As such crimes are increasing, and as abusers get the courage from such court decisions, we are only given a breather until the next case that will blow our minds, horrify us.

The system lets these abusers back into the society, saying “he means well.”

All we do after that is see where things go...

Kanat Atkaya, child abuse, sexual harrasment,