Violence begets violence

We know the details that shocked a nation:

Inside the caravan, Raurangi Marino locked the door and grabbed the girl around the neck as she tried to flee.

He began to choke her in an attempt to stop her screams; he did so with such force that she passed out. Then he began to beat her about the face and body with his fists and elbows while sexually assaulting her.

The attack on the girl left her with four teeth knocked out and serious internal injuries.

Both her eyes were swollen shut and she had cuts and bruising to her face.

She was rushed to Waikato Hospital in a life-threatened condition and underwent surgery for 4½ hours.

The 10 year sentence seems appropriate for me. I understand the severity of the assault had a starting point of 18 years, but then you discount 30% for the guilty plea and a discount for his age.  While not abdicating him of responsibility, his background is very sad:

Immersed in a life of gang culture, Marino grew up wanting to emulate his father and join a gang, the court was told.

His childhood was bereft of role models or strong parenting, and marked by excessive violence between his parents, and from his father.

His parents separated when he was 13 and he did not see his mother for three years.

He was badly burned as a child when his siblings ran a hot bath for him, because his mother was drunk.

The injuries to his hands required extensive skin grafts.

A family member sexually assaulted him when he was 9 and again when he was 15, the court heard.

I do wonder how he managed to stay with his parents all this time, and not get placed into care?