GUILTY NEW ZEALAND - Grace Millane, 22, British backpacker, Auckland, 1 Dec 2018 #3

[JudgeJudi]

After strangling Grace, he took shocking photographs of her dead body, watched hard core *advertiser censored* and went on another date before putting Grace into a suitcase and burying her.

Eight months before strangling Grace, he raped another British tourist. Just as he did with Grace, he lured the victim, then 21, into a drunken Tinder date before taking her back to his motel room. Furious at her refusal to have sex after he had bought her drinks and dinner, he told her he 'treated her like a princess', and raped her while she lay on the bed crying and frozen with fear.

Kempson had avoided the rape and eight further charges of sexual and other violence against a former live-in girlfriend being heard as part of his murder trial. Instead, in two separate trials, he chose to be tried by judges sitting without juries but was convicted each time. He was convicted of terrorising his girlfriend over a period of months. He subjected her to violent assaults, threatened her with a butcher's knife and forced her into humiliating sex acts after telling her he had been sent by the CIA to kill her and, with a knife to her throat, told her 'you are going to die today' before ordering her to perform 'ghastly' sexual acts. The judge said Kempson's sexual assaults had involved a 'particular cruelty', there were no mitigating factors and Kempson had shown no remorse.

Grace Millane's murderer raped another woman just eight months earlier | Daily Mail Online

What an absolutely evil and disgusting individual.

 

[Legally Bland]

Detective Inspector Scott Beard said now Kempson's name was public it was highly likely more women would come forward to report their experiences with him.

"After he was arrested more than a dozen women came forward, and there were others we identified through our investigations," he explained.

"By all means, if there's people out there who have been subjected to abuse and violence by Grace's murderer - tell us.

"Come forward and tell us, we will get you the support you need. Prosecuting him - that's not the main reason for coming forward, as we know the psychological affect on victims is significant.

"So come and see us and talk to us, tell us your story. We've heard it before, it's not going to be something new to us and we can get you the support that you need to move forward."

'If it wasn't Grace, it would have been someone else': Top cop Scott Beard speaks out about Millane murder, expects more women to come forward - NZ Herald

 

[mrjitty]

So interesting that his other trials were judge only. Wonder if they felt that enough people did know his name that they wouldn’t get fair jury trials? Or is this standard with sexual assault cases to protect victim privacy?

The accused can elect trial by Judge only. My guess is he didn't want to face a jury.

 

[mrazda71]

Do you know what the worst, the absolute worst thing about all this ...

That his previous victims couldn't face reporting his abuse when it happened.

probably because when you do, you are treated like the criminal, you are put through months of reliving the event and then if you even get to court, a judge decides 'he's not to blame because you were drunk or wearing a short dress'.

No other victim is ever treated so badly by the officials as a sexual assault or rape victim.
No one asks a mugging victim 'are you SURE you were mugged and you didn't just have one drink too many and give the accused your wallet?' ...

 

[smucklecrumble]

https://www.courtsofnz.govt.nz/assets/cases/SC-111-2020-Kempson-v-R.pdf

 

[sunnynz]

Taking the time to think through this - what kind of home environment was it that prompted Kempson's mother to leave him at age 3. Was there abuse she was escaping from? It's an extreme step to take and hard to understand but perhaps abuse from the father was also a factor in shaping Kempson's psyche (I'm not excusing him in any way).

Here's another story of a woman who has come forward with her experience of a scary date with him. Grace Millane: Woman feels lucky to be alive after 'terrifying' date with killer - just heartbreaking to get some insight into how Grace may have spent her final hours.

And these kind of details that come out now, that the jury wasn't allowed to hear in the trial. Thank god they found him guilty anyway! (Warning, discusses NSFW details on what Kempson searched for on his phone after killing Grace) Grace Millane's killer searched for extreme *advertiser censored* moments after murder

 

[Sarahlou]

I've now read a few articles which say his sentences are going to run concurrently. That's disappointing.

It's very worrying to think this guy could be free in his 40s.

 

[sunnynz]

I've now read a few articles which say his sentences are going to run concurrently. That's disappointing.

It's very worrying to think this guy could be free in his 40s.

I find it very hard to believe he would get parole if his attitudes and behaviours are still the same. Remember it’s just the minimum non parole period, doesn’t mean he’ll get released. But yes, I agree the thought of him being free at such a young age is terrifying.

 

[Cherwell]

I don't understand why concurrent sentences are a thing at all.

 

[mrjitty]

I don't understand why concurrent sentences are a thing at all.

To be fair NZ already has overflowing jails thanks to endless tough on crime politicians

Sentence inflation doesn't achieve much but costs a fortune

Meanwhile we already have the ability to keep a dangerous serial offender like this one off the streets for good

 

[cnmccarthy]

Do you know what the worst, the absolute worst thing about all this ...

That his previous victims couldn't face reporting his abuse when it happened.

probably because when you do, you are treated like the criminal, you are put through months of reliving the event and then if you even get to court, a judge decides 'he's not to blame because you were drunk or wearing a short dress'.

No other victim is ever treated so badly by the officials as a sexual assault or rape victim.
No one asks a mugging victim 'are you SURE you were mugged and you didn't just have one drink too many and give the accused your wallet?' ...

I was thinking the same. If they had gotten the support to come forward, grace would probably be alive right now. It’s awful how rape victims are treated and it truly does prevent us from reporting it.

 

[otto]

I don't understand why concurrent sentences are a thing at all.

Concurrent sentencing is common when the 'penal system' is predicated on rehabilitation. The hope is that people can be habilitated: the younger the convict, the better chance of rehabilitation within a shorter sentence.

Kempson is a dangerous offender, predator and repeat offender. In Canada, some criminals are designated "dangerous offender" and they are never released even though they serve one 25 year sentence for multiple murders. Examples are Paul Bernardo and Clifford Olson.

Is there a dangerous offender designation in NZ? If not, perhaps all the victims who came before Grace who were afraid to speak up should advocate for dangerous offender status for a repeat violent offender against women.

Dangerous offender status may require 3 similar murders, maybe it should include 3 similar murders / attempted murders.

 

[mrjitty]

I know it feels like we need to create new laws every few years when a particularly bad murder happens but imposing ever higher mandatory sentences has negative impacts in terms our our jails and doesn't achieve anything except political points.

NZ entrusts its judges to impose the most appropriate sentence in each case. And the minimum parole period already ensures that a dangerous serial offender like this guy can be kept off the streets for good.

We don't need yet another sentencing regime. Remember that the current regime already represents a 'get tough' crackdown on what we had before.

 

[LucyRocket]

A marked difference in his appearance since being detained, looks like he's having a hard life in jail.

jesse kempson - Google Search

I thought that, he looks like a different person! But that actually happened before his detention. Look at the pictures from his night out and arrest, nothing like Facebook. Looks around 10 years older and 6 stone heavier. Looks bloated and rapidly aged like a heavy drinker

 

[sunnynz]

This article reports on a UK documentary about the case which featured interviews with the lead detective and kempsons flatmate. TW: contains luminal images of Grace’s blood

Grace Millane: Scott Beard on moment he knew what Jesse Kempson had done, former flatmate on killer's 'elaborate' stories

 

[JerseyGirl]

Grace Millane's family upset over choke-death manslaughter sentencing

 

[they'll get you]

Ms Millane's cousin Hannah O'Callaghan previously said the New Zealand court case was "truly horrendous" and it felt like her cousin was on trial, yet not able to defend herself.

"Men must not be allowed to use this defence as an excuse to kill women, knowing they can get a lesser sentence," she added.

Grace Millane's murder led to increased concerns about the defence and a campaign group formed to put pressure on ministers to ban it.

In 2020, the defence was outlawed as part of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, but campaigners said men were still relying on it in court.
Grace Millane's family upset over choke-death manslaughter sentencing

 

[Ched]

Documentary on tv now ITV