ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – A Newfoundland and Labrador lawyer says the public outcry after a man allegedly broke into a home and sexually assaulted a minor last week is warranted, but people should be just as angry any time a woman is attacked by a man.
Stephen Hopkins, 29, was arrested Sept. 18 and has been charged with break and enter, sexual assault, forcible confinement and breach of a court order in connection with the alleged sexual assault of a girl that morning in St. John’s, N.L.
Police said that a man broke into the girl’s house in a residential area at around 9 a.m. and that the girl did not know him.
Hopkins had previously been convicted of sexual assault on July 29 and sentenced to time served and 10 years with his name registered as a sex offender. Court records show he was back in police custody in August after failing to check in with authorities as required, before being released again.
Lynn Moore, a lawyer specializing in sexual abuse litigation, said the anger and fear expressed on social media in response to the girl’s assault is justified.
But she noted stories of intimate partner violence aren’t met with the same outrage and demands for a better system, even though more women are killed by their partners each year than by strangers.
“Everybody sympathizes because she did nothing wrong, because she is completely innocent,” Moore said of the alleged victim. “But we ascribe blame to women who get themselves into relationships where there is violence.”
Moore said anger at the justice system over the release of someone later charged with reoffending could be better directed at politicians who don’t invest in supervision and support for people after they’re released.
“The law doesn’t allow us to lock ’em up and throw away the key,” she said. “The law requires them to be released. So if they’re going to be released, why don’t we make their release as safe as possible?”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 23, 2020.