A 25-year-old gave the ‘rock on’ hand symbol leaving court today after he was sentenced for directing sexually explicit comments — including one about raping feminists — towards a woman on Facebook.
But it’s the comments of Magistrate William Pierce that are arguably the most shocking today.
Zane Alchin was charged over a string of disgusting comments including, “You know the best thing about a feminist they don’t get any action so when you rape them it feels 100 times tighter”.
At Sydney’s Downing Centre court, Magistrate Pierce concluded the comments did not amount to a rape threat. He used a football analogy to illustrate the point.
“If you’re on the football field, you consent to a few bumps, so a few mildly explicit comments, in this analogy … your sexually explicit comments were the equivalent of socking someone in the jaw with a right hook,” he said, according to the Guardian.
While he conceded Alchin “overdid it” with his “extremely offensive … very explicit” remarks, he also painted him as a victim in his own right.
“There was a vast over reaction by people including (the victim) who have caused you to experience a great deal of pain which you didn’t deserve for that.”
Alchin posted 55 comments to Facebook in just two hours during one afternoon in August 2015, targeting Olivia Melville, on Facebook after a screenshot of her Tinder profile was shared.
She was called a slut, mocked about her weight and threatened with sexual violence; all while repeatedly being told it was her fault.