Prosecutors failed to win a tougher punishment for Joshua Crockwell, the former firefighter who was spared a jail sentence for molesting a 12-year-old girl.Chief Justice Ian Kawaley said the 15-month suspended sentence handed to Crockwell, who got the victim to give oral sex, was “not manifestly inadequate” based on the law and sentencing practices as they stand.He criticised the media reporting of the case and the public reaction to the sentence imposed. However, he said the public outcry partially influenced him to recommend that such cases of sexual exploitation are dealt with by immediate prison terms in future.During the appeal hearing last month, Prosecutor Susan Mulligan argued that the sentence imposed by Magistrate Khamisi Tokunbo on Crockwell in May was “manifestly inadequate”.Defence lawyer Elizabeth Christopher argued that Crockwell was 20 years old when he committed the offence, and defendants aged under 21 are rarely jailed for such crimes in Bermuda. She maintained that Crockwell did not realise that the girl was underage.The Chief Justice said Mr Tokunbo based his sentencing of Crockwell on the fact that “the offence was at the lower end of the gravity scale”.Other mitigating factors were his young age, the fact he was deemed to be at low risk of reoffending, apologised for his crime, and had family support.In the circumstances, and in light of the law and sentencing principles as they stood at the time, the Chief Justice said the sentence was not manifestly inadequate.But he also suggested the law should be updated due to the “passage of time” because the last time the Supreme Court reviewed the sentencing approach of the Magistrates’ Court was in 2003.“In the interim, public awareness of and sensitivity to the extent to which child sex abuse is a problem which society as a whole including the criminal justice system has not adequately dealt with, has increased in significant terms,” he noted.The Chief Justice undertook a lengthy analysis of the way Bermuda’s courts deal with such cases in comparison to other countries, including England and Wales. His analysis can be read in the full judgment which will be attached under related media.He concluded: “In summary, having regard to a fresh analysis of the correct approach to sentencing adults convicted under section 182 (A) of the Criminal Code following a trial, the required sentence is a sentence of immediate custody save in exceptional circumstances, even if the adult offender is comparatively young and of previous good character”.He suggested an appropriate scale for the jail term should be from two to 18 months. He said this should be the approach unless there are “exceptional circumstances” to justify a suspended sentence or non custodial sentence.The Chief Justice explained he made his suggestion “taking into account, in part, the strong public response to the perceived leniency of the suspended sentence” imposed on Crockwell.He said it was important to note “the need to carefully balance the sometimes conflicting dictates of the need for judges to exercise their functions independently according to law, and the need for he sentencing process to engender public confidence in the rule of law”.The Crockwell sentence provoked a storm of controversy, with many bloggers and commentators saying it shook their confidence in Bermuda’s justice system.Mr Tokunbo’s comments that there was a “mutual attraction” between the defendant and victim, and that she “needed to be protected from herself” prompted the Coalition for the Protection of Children to brand his handling of the case as being like something from “the dark ages”.The Progressive Labour Party, One Bermuda Alliance and Women’s Resource Centre also expressed concerns, and an online petition was launched calling for Mr Tokunbo to be fired.In his ruling yesterday Mr Justice Kawaley noted: “The sentence was subject to intense public criticism in the media and especially the blogosphere.”He said it would be wrong for judges to be affected by “popular sentiment about the case in question” when meting out punishments.He took issue with the media reporting of the case saying: “The Learned Magistrate did not suggest or imply that the complainant was in any way to blame for encouraging the commission of the offence.”He noted that, according to the court record, Mr Tokunbo said: “Clearly there was a mutual attraction between you and the young lady but you ought to have known better and known that she was off limits for any type of sexual contact.”He further noted how the Magistrate pointed out: “This is a serious offence. The law / legislation is designed to protect young girls from men who would do this kind of thing to them and indeed to protect young girls from themselves.”Mr Justice Kawaley said: “When the sentencing remarks are viewed as a whole, it is impossible to fairly say that the Learned Magistrate displayed any insensitivity to the complainant”.