Chief Justice Ian Kawaley should consider the public outrage caused by the Joshua Crockwell case when he decides on Crockwell’s appeal, lawyers argued yesterday.Mr Justice Kawaley said he has never experienced “such an intense public reaction” to a Magistrates’ Court case before.Defence lawyer Elizabeth Christopher said that means Crockwell deserves sympathy, not a greater punishment.However, prosecutor Susan Mulligan urged the Chief Justice “not to give too much weight” to that argument.Crockwell, 22, is appealing his conviction for the sexual exploitation of a 12-year-old girl who he got to perform oral sex on him when he was 20-years-old.Ms Mulligan is appealing against what she has described as the “manifestly inadequate” sentence meted out to Crockwell by Magistrate Khamisi Tokunbo following the conviction.Mr Tokunbo imposed a 15-month prison sentence, but suspended it for two years, meaning Crockwell will not have to spend any time behind bars unless he gets into trouble during the suspension period.Arguing yesterday that Crockwell should be cleared, Ms Christopher noted the publicity he endured as a result of the case. She said it attracted “public humiliation” and “public denunciation” which extended “even to Facebook and other social media”.She said of Crockwell: “He is only 22 and this stigma will follow him for the rest of his life.”The Magistrate’s comments during the sentencing in May, together with the fact that he suspended the sentence, prompted a strong reaction from the community.Mr Tokunbo said it was not a case where the defendant “preyed” upon the victim — who cannot be identified by the media. He added that it seemed there was a “mutual attraction” between the pair, and the victim needed to be “protected from herself”.His remarks 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.Crockwell was a firefighter at the time of the case, but is no longer employed with the fire service.The Chief Justice commented during yesterday’s appeal hearing: “In the context of Bermuda, certainly in my experience, I have never come across such intense public reaction to any single decision in the Magistrates’ Court.”When he asked Ms Mulligan for her views on the publicity, she replied that it will “certainly have had an impact on this young man”.She also noted: “The court is entitled to look at the circumstances as they exist now in deciding whether to disturb the sentence given at trial. It [Bermuda] is a small place — people really follow the news, particularly the local news. The court can consider it. I just ask the court not to give it too much weight as news is today, and the next day something else comes along.”Crockwell’s trial heard he met the child when she was playing outside her apartment with friends of a similar age.The victim later contacted Crockwell and arranged to meet him at a school. During this meeting, Crockwell asked the girl to give him oral sex and tried to make her do so against her will.She was upset over what happened and told her stepmother, who reported the matter to the police.Crockwell told his trial the victim was trying to act older than she was and wore provocative clothing. He maintains his defence that he did not know how young she was.However, Mr Tokunbo decided that Crockwell knew the girl was 12 years old, and rejected the defendant’s suggestions that the victim acted provocatively.Yesterday, Ms Christopher argued that the Magistrate delivered an “unreasonable” verdict, which should be overturned.She said evidence from a police officer who conducted an “informal interview” with Crockwell should not have been admitted as part of the case.She questioned the “credibility” of the victim’s evidence, and suggested Mr Tokunbo was wrong to believe her account and reject Crockwell’s.Ms Mulligan said there is no reason to quash the conviction.Mr Justice Kawaley said he will announce his decision at a later date.