We have had good reason to criticise Judge Julian Hall in the past.

He became the target of widespread criticism when he gave window cleaner Keith Fenn a two-year jail sentence for raping a 10-year-old girl.

Concern over the lenient way in which he treated this paedophile was shared by Attorney General Baroness Scotland, who has referred the case to the Court of Appeal.

But now we are pleased to see Judge Hall getting tougher with these menaces to society.

At Oxford Crown Court, he handed down a four-year sentence to child abuser Peter Cox.

We hope we will see more longer sentences like that from Judge Hall and fellow members of the judiciary.

However, we are less than impressed with the police, who have rejected our request to publish a picture of Cox.

In our view, the penalty imposed by the court is only part of the sentence.

The publication of names, addresses and pictures of defendants alerts the public to the crime and criminal, and can serve as a strong deterrent.

The public have a right to know about the despicable characters who abuse children.