A question for those who think a 12 year old?

[nemesis]

With respect, the 'age of consent' is 16 by which time the law assumes young ones IN GENERAL are old enough to to know the difference beween consent and non-consent (rape).
Young ones develop at varying rate - it not an exact science - but for clarity lines have to be drawn somewhere and a 17 year-old is deemed to be as 'responsible as an 18 or 19 year-old, etc etc.
We may differ in our opinions where such lines are drawn - and where a Judge has grounds for 'rehabilitaion' other than in jail - which most accept are Universities of Crime.
'Walking free' smacks of the boy merrily going on as if he's got away with a serious crime, but his declared sense of remorse and the fact he'll have 'intense' supervision suggests otherwise.
Some 12 year-olds CAN be nasty, vindictive little swines and repeat offenders- for whom a dentention centre is more appropriate but in the Judge's view this boy isn't one of them.
I'm no softie on punishment - I'd like to see more jails, much tougher conditions and restoration of the death penalty - but counter-balanced by Judges having discretion as to where detention/jail is appropriate.