An online Tinder student who had raped repeatedly a 12-year old girl, he said was “immature” and believed she was 16 years. His victim however was very sexually suggestive.
Jachin Joshua, 20 years old, met the girl via the dating app in 2013 and flew to London, from Dunstable, Bedfordshire to get to know her.
They spent 2 days traveling around London together, and enjoyed sex in many locations such as the Westfields Stratford Shopping Centre’s carpark last May.
Mascall confessed to having sex in his car with the girl two months prior to her 13th birthday. But he insists that he truly believed she was 16 years old.
He pleaded guilty to three counts of child rape at Inner London Crown Court. After seven months, he was released from custody and granted bail.
Jachin Joshua, 20 years old, met the girl via the dating app in 2013 and flew to London, from Dunstable (Bedfordshire), to get to know her.
Judge Freya Newbery claimed that Mascall did not have any paedophile tendencies.
‘What there is instead is a young man who is relatively ordinary, immature and possibly naïve,’ she said.
Cambridge-educated judge that ruled in sentence
Freya is an Inner London Crown Court Recorder, meaning that she can serve part-time while working as a barrister.
According to a biography on the Middle Temple website, she attended a comprehensive school before taking the Cambridge Entrance Exam aged 16 and going on to read Law at 18.
Freya Newbury
After building up a legal practice, she became a Recorder in 2004 and holds a variety of other roles including that of vice-chairman of the Bar Council Equality and Diversity Committee and the head of ethics training at Middle Temple Advocacy.
Lambeth Youth Offending Service also employs her. She is responsible for Middle Temple Advocacy’s ethics training.
The press has reported on several other cases that she was involved in. In 2020, she decided not to jail a conman who had tricked rail companies out of £130,000 after hearing he was the sole carer for his 11-year-old son.
Judge Newbury explained that Olajide Absass (45), was not allowed to visit her family due to lockdown and had to give the judge the shortest sentence she could to ensure the welfare of the child.
Last year she sent a transgender beauty to nine months prison for pushing a grandmother to death. It happened one day after she had been released from prison following her conviction for pushing a Tube officer onto the tracks.
You said that you believed she was an older woman because she had been on Tinder claiming she was.
You’ve said that her car was a vehicle and she lived in a house, so she is an adult.
So, in other words: You didn’t realize she was twelve years old or was below 16. You were surprised to find out that she was only 12 years old when you arrested her.
He then described CCTV footage showing the pair together.
She stated, “It indicates that she wasn’t distressed while she was with your and at one stage she seemed to behave sexually suggestively towards you.”
“She was undoubtedly an extremely vulnerable child.” She was sexually assaulted and used social media such as Tinder pretending to be an adult.
“The law is there to protect people vulnerable like her. Even from themselves.”
Mascall was not the one who groomed and exploited the girl. He also didn’t use force.
Judge Newbery admitted that he had met the girl on Tinder, but said he would have done more to verify her age.
“When communicating with her you had hoped to have a romantic relationship,” she stated.
“What you wanted was a girlfriend and not a victim.”
After being kicked from her family home, she said Mascall lived in a vehicle at the time of his offences.
Marion Smullen, who is defending, stated that there was no problem with the defendant since he had been released on bail.
“He applied for a degree in culinary arts at Birmingham University. Before he admitted to the charges, he had not been before the criminal courts.
“He is a member of a supportive and close family. Although they are aware of the circumstances, they continue to support him.
“There’s no indication that he’ll offend again.”
Mascall, of Dunstable, was sentenced to a community order for three years with 200 hours unpaid work and he must pay £450 in costs.
Also, he must complete 40 days worth of rehab and 48 sessions in a program that promotes maturity.
According to the prosecution, it is plausible that Mascall didn’t know the true age of the girl when he first met her via Tinder.
Judge Newbery said to him, “And so it’s the prosecution’s argument that you believed she could consent for sexual activity with me and that this was reasonable belief for you at that time.”
“Not when you first met, but the entire time you were together between May 3rd and May 5th when these crimes were committed.
Mascall admitted three counts of rape of a child under 13 at Inner London Crown Court and spent seven months in custody until he was released on bail last month
“On May 3, when you first met her, you traveled to London where you later met with her. It is said that she invited you to London. This seems plausible, as far as I know.
“You were just 19 years old when you started sofa surfing. Your family is supportive, and you have close friends. However your strict religious parents had decided to exonerate you because you appeared wrong-headed.
They thought that you were sharing a home with a friend. But, you actually lived in your own apartment and were sofasurfing.
“Some may ask “Why would she believe that she was older than 16?”
“I do not know much, but I can tell you that your probation officer described the young man as immature.
“This case is exceptional in that exploitation has been absent.”