Kandice Barber Sex Crime Case

Institutional Affiliation

Date

Introduction to the Criminal Case

The criminal case selected for this task is a recent UK-based sex crime involving a teacher and a pupil. The crime perpetrator, Kandice Barber, is a 35-year-old married female Buckinghamshire teacher. The victim is a 15-year-old schoolboy, a pupil at Princes Risborough School (BBC, 2021; Merrifield, 2021). The court hearing occurred in September 2020 at Aylesbury Crown Court. BBC (2020) established that a retrial on January 18 2021 under twelve judges was occurred because the juries did not reach verdicts on three counts in the initial trial.

Historical Context of the Crime

This crime dates back to 2018 when Barber beguilingly borrowed the boy’s mobile phone, added her details on his Snapchat account, and began messaging him (Christodoulou, 2020). Continued messaging included messages about having a bath and meeting up with the boy. Later, she began sending explicit images and videos. Specifically, she sent a topless photo of herself, images of herself amidst sex toys while performing a sex act on herself, and a video of herself masturbating (Aoraha, 2021; Christodoulou, 2020). The jury established all these action as adequately planned acts tantamount to grooming the boy.

The school’s headmaster saw one of these X-rated pictures in November 2018, but they were not enough to warrant her arrest then because the boy denied engaging in sexual actions with her. Later, upon interview by the police, the boy revealed that he initially lied, but panic began to trounce him after Barber told him she would be pregnant with his child. He further revealed that she had threatened to bring him down with her by false rape allegations if he dared to report her, a fact the court affirmed (Aoraha, 2021; Pattinson & Winter, 2021; Williams, 2021). This evidence prompted the police to arrest her months after the X-rated photo leaked.

Following her arrest in March 2020, her first trial, and the retrial of about 10 hours and 40 minutes, the court by a majority of ten judges found Barber guilty of two counts and not guilty on one count. Particularly, she was guilty of one count of exploiting her position of trust to cause a minor to watch a sexual act and one count of sexual communication with a child (BBC, 2021; Daoud, 2021; Quaggin, 2021). However, the court acquitted her of the count of inciting or causing a child to engage in sexual actions as a person in a position of trust. The court deemed Barber’s actions in this sex crime “beyond despicable” (Aoraha, 2021; Merrifield, 2021), accordingly warranting a prison sentence of six years and two months.

Theoretical Analysis of the Crime Event

Barber’s acts qualified her to be registered as a sex offender, requiring her to abide by provisions of a sexual harm prevention order. Besides, she was barred from working with vulnerable adults and children forever while being obliged to submit her details to the police for life (Daoud, 2021; Merrifield, 2021). As a sex offender, the etiological theories of adult sex offending in child sexual abuse contexts that offer the theoretical underpinning her sex crime conceptualization are the routine activity theory and the sexual grooming phenomenon.

The theory of routine activity is a staple model in criminology that posits that three distinctive elements are indispensable requisites for the occurrence of sex offending: a suitable target, a motivated offender, and a lack of guardianship (Kloess et al., 2019; Ropp, 2019). The theory further holds that these elements converge in time and space to enable the manifestation of the criminal event. In 1995, criminology scholars Eck and Weisburd added place as the fourth element to expand the model to four elements deemed necessary for the crime to occur. They suggested that this additionally element is essential because it adds credibility to the impact of the physical place on crime perpetration beyond a mere convergence of the characters involved.

In Barber’s case, she was a motivated sex offender poised to exploit all available avenues, including threats, false allegations, and lies, to induce the schoolboy to her sexual advances. On his part, the boy was a suitable target for Barber because he was gullible of her intensions when she borrowed his phone mobile phone, added herself on his Snapchat, and started messaging him. Additionally, the boy lacked guardianship on dealing with Barber’s advances and subsequent rape allegation threats, plunging him into profound panic. She ensured that the element of place conveniently suited her intentions, as she picked up the schoolboy in her car and drove to a private area of a field (Quaggin, 2021) to accomplish her sexual motive.

Once the sex offender leverages the four elements of the routine activity theory to establish contact with the child, they start engaging in the sexual grooming process. Child sexual grooming is a preparatory process characterizing several stages aimed to overcome the minor’s resistance, augment their compliance, maintain their secrecy, and reinforce their cooperation (Elliott, 2017; Kloess et al., 2019). The presence of child vulnerability is crucial in the grooming process. Essentially, offenders exploit these vulnerabilities to gain access to the child, develop a relationship of trust, and desensitize them to touch (Winters & Jeglic, 2017; Craven et al., 2006).

Evidently, Barber practiced sexual grooming with the boy. Affirming this point, NSPCC spokesperson stated that “she exploited her position of trust to groom and abuse this teenage boy for her own sexual gratification” (Merrifield, 2021, par. 10). She knew that the boy was young enough to neither understand his emotional world properly nor make sane decisions. By leveraging such vulnerabilities, she groomed the schoolboy successfully via mobile and digital communication tools. Kloess et al. (2019) admit that sexual grooming in an online environment is challenging to curtail because significant guardianship and protective surroundings are absent, augmenting minors’ vulnerabilities that the adult sex offender can exploited easily.

Media Involvement and Coverage of the Case

Various media outlets across the UK and elsewhere have comprehensively covered this case since it occurred, covering all its stages from investigation to disposition. Editors and authors from globally recognized media outlets such as BBC, 7 News, The Sun, Metro, and The Mirror, have been involved in reporting this case. Those whose reports informed this paper are Aoraha (2021), Christodoulou (2020), Daoud (2021), Merrifield (2021), Pattinson and Winter (2021), Quaggin (2021), and Williams (2021). While these news authors have given different accounts of how this sex crime began, transpired, and progressed to the ultimate verdict, they demonstrate substantial consensuses about the case facts, the judicial deliberations, reasoning, and decisions, and rationales for determinations and verdicts.

Furthermore, a close examination of these media accounts reveal unanimity of these news authors’ points regarding how the case progressed through the eight stages of a criminal case. These stages include investigation, arrest, bail, arraignment, indictment (presentation of evidence), preliminary hearing, trial, and sentencing (Şahin, 2015), with exception of appeal. The defendant did not appeal this case, Pattinson and Winter (2021) confirm. So, it can be said that the media coverage of this criminal case was accurate and reliable. Perhaps this can be attributed to the fact that all these media outlets reported and published information from one verified source of case proceedings: the Aylesbury Crown Court.

The case’s broad coverage by the media provided an overview of the justice process to the public, including the implementation of law enforcement, prosecution, and corrections of adult sex offenders against children. In the United Kingdom and other British Commonwealth countries, the media is restricted by the law to safely report only on the essential facts of a criminal arrest while offering objective and balanced accounts of basic, on-the-record proceedings during trials (Howe, 2021). This further explains why the media coverage and reporting of Barber’s case was consistent among all these news authors.

Perspective on the Media Effect on Case Outcomes

While media coverage of criminal cases and trials poses dilemmas to judicial processes, press presence and attention in such criminal cases occasionally has significant benefits. For instance, media coverage ensures the correct determination of facts from sufficient witnesses, safeguards fair and unbiased criminal case administration due to public scrutiny, and provides informational stimuli for the public to gauge the justice system’s operational effectiveness (Howe, 2021). In Barber’s case, the media operated within the confines of the special restrictions provided by the law in their coverage.

This allowed law enforcement officers (the police) to provide unbiased information to the judges while not altering the behaviours of jurors and witnesses. At the same time, such media coverage ensured the decisions the juries made were fair and unbiased because there was no interference from information in news coverage available about this case before trial. Ultimately, the outcomes of the case were deemed as objective and unprejudiced. An essential aspect of the case’s media coverage is that the identity of Barber’s victim was concealed all along. This was essential in maintaining the case’s legal credibility (BBC, 2020) while eliminating likelihoods of further victimization of the boy.

Concluding Remarks

The media coverage of Barber’s sex crime case played a critical role in bringing its facts to public attention, enlightening other potential victims about sex offenders’ grooming tactics against minors. It also illuminated how the justice system disseminates justice towards promoting the overall welfare of vulnerable children who are oblivious and gullible of sex offenders’ targets. Even so, it is important to recall that press coverage can pose severe challenges, especially the coverage of sensitive victim cases. Publicity in such cases can infuse unfair trials, particularly if the juries and prosecutors act out of administrative expediency. Additionally, media coverage has the potential of exposing some witnesses to threats of reprisals and reputational damage. The principle is to set certain constraints, guidelines, and restrictions that provide the confines within which the media should cover these criminal cases.

References

Aoraha, C. (March 05, 2021). Sex miss caged: Shamed teacher Kandice Barber branded ‘beyond despicable’ by judge as victim says he failed GCSEs after stress of ordeal. The Sun. London, UK. News Group Newspapers Limited. Retrieved October 9, 2021, from https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/14241522/sex-shame-teacher-kandice-barber-jailed-years/.

BBC. (March 05, 2021). Snapchat sex trial: Buckinghamshire teacher Kandice Barber jailed. London, UK. BBC. Retrieved October 9, 2021, from https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-56295671.

BBC. (September 2020). Kandice Barber case: Jury discharged in ‘sex with pupil’ trial. London, UK. BBC. Retrieved October 9, 2021, from https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-54155866.

Christodoulou, H. (September 01, 2020). Perv Miss: Married female teacher, 35, ‘had sex with pupil, 15, in field and sent him topless pic on Snapchat’. The U.S. Sun. The Sun, US, Inc. Retrieved October 9, 2021, from https://www.the-sun.com/news/uk-news/1403441/teacher-sex-pupil-topless-snapchat-buckinghamshire/.

Craven, S., Brown, S., & Gilchrist, E. (2006). Sexual grooming of children: Review of literature and theoretical considerations. Journal of sexual aggression, 12(3), 287-299.

Daoud, E. (March 06, 2021). Married UK teacher Kandice Barber learns fate after being found guilty of grooming student for sex. Australia. 7 News. Retrieved October 9, 2021, fromhttps://7news.com.au/news/world/married-uk-teacher-kandice-barber-learns-fate-after-being-found-guilty-of-grooming-student-for-sex-c-2297654.

Elliott, I. A. (2017). A self-regulation model of sexual grooming. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 18(1), 83-97. Doi: 10.1177/1524838015591573.

Howe, S. W. (2021). Publicity in criminal cases: Difficulty for the trial judge in assessing prejudice, judicial rules governing prejudice assessments, overcoming prejudicial publicity. Web Solutions LLC. Retrieved October 9, 2021, from https://law.jrank.org/pages/1894/Publicity-in-Criminal-Cases.html.

Kloess, J. A., Hamilton-Giachritsis, C. E., & Beech, A. R. (2019). Offense processes of online sexual grooming and abuse of children via internet communication platforms. Sexual Abuse, 31(1), 73-96. Doi: 10.1177/1079063217720927.

Merrifield, R. (March 05, 2021). “Beyond despicable” teacher, 35, who had sex with schoolboy, 15, in field jailed. The Mirror. Retrieved October 9, 2021, from https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/breaking-married-teacher-35-who-23612495.

Pattinson, R., & Winter A. (April 07, 2021). Jailed Miss: Married teacher Kandice Barber jailed for sex with pupil, 15, won’t appeal sentence – as mum reveals she can’t visit her. The Sun. London, UK. News Group Newspapers Limited. Retrieved October 9, 2021, from https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/14571450/married-teacher-kandice-barber-jailed-sex-pupil-mum/.

Quaggin, L. (January 29, 2021). Married teacher Kandice Barber found guilty of having sex with her 15-year-old student. Australia. 7 News. Retrieved October 9, 2021, from https://7news.com.au/news/world/married-teacher-kandice-barber-found-guilty-of-having-sex-with-student-15-c-2051806.

Ropp, J. (2019). Sexual abuse and assault against minors: A spatial application of routine activity theory (Master’s Thesis; Boise State University).

Şahin, İ. (2015). A brief summary of criminal procedure process at the United States judicial system. Journal of Judgments by the Court of Jurisdictional Disputes, (5), 707-725.

Williams, T. (January 28, 2021). Married teacher guilty of having sex with schoolboy in a field. Metro. Associated Newspapers Limited. Retrieved October 9, 2021, from https://metro.co.uk/2021/01/28/married-buckinghamshire-teacher-guilty-of-having-sex-with-schoolboy-13981868/.

Winters, G. M., & Jeglic, E. L. (2017). Stages of sexual grooming: Recognizing potentially predatory behaviors of child molesters. Deviant behavior, 38(6), 724-733. Doi: 10.1080/01639625.2016.1197656.