People should be punished for a crime they've been found guilty of within the sentencing guidelines - they shouldn't get an overly heavy sentence just to deter other people.
While I don't condone what he did at all, one little bit, the whole search for them did seem like a massive witch hunt given it appeared both of them went to France voluntarily.
I suspect he's going to be hit with a harsh jail sentence - be interesting how it compares to Stuart Hall's sentence.