It's not true that rapists and pedophiles almost always get light sentences. But maybe we can agree on this: too many do get light sentences. I absolutely agree with you that there's no way in Hell they should be walking the street. Put them away for no less than 30 years, even better, life. Yes, I'm all for pedophiles, rapists and murderers being put away for life. This does not include statutory rape where a teen and a young adult consent to sex.

I also believe that a big factor in someone getting a light sentence is the wealth of the defendant (pays for top lawyers) and fame (which usually overlaps with wealth). There's also times when sloppy police work ruined cases, like not running DNA tests, contaminated evidence, losing evidence, etc. And sometimes, as groups like The Innocence Project have shown, sometimes they put away the wrong guy due to incompetence or corruption. There are also times when a young woman falsely accuses her sex partner of rape because she changed her mind the next day. Some types of Third Wave Feminism actually encourage this.