I didn't mean to imply that those were exclusive explanations; I agree that your alternative scenario, that he made a decision (which he believed to be his to make) without consulting an expert or collecting information from the case, is very plausible.

I don't believe that the punishment-for-being raped version is accurate; I included it more or less as a worst-case scenario. I agree entirely with your definition of "sinister" in this case.