A man who raped a child and sexually assaulted another has received an increased sentence after his case was referred to the Court of Appeal by the Solicitor General, Alex Chalk QC MP.
On separate occasions the offender, who cannot be named for legal reasons, raped and sexually assaulted one child under the age of 13 and sexually assaulted another child under the age of 13. In addition to these offences, he recorded the rape and created indecent images of children, distributing one of them.
On 17 December 2021, having pleaded guilty, the offender was sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment and a licence period of 5 years.
Following the sentencing, the Solicitor General referred the offender's sentence to the Court of Appeal under the Unduly Lenient Sentence (ULS) scheme.
On 23 February 2022 the Court of Appeal found his original sentence to be unduly lenient and increased it to 14 years and 8 months' imprisonment with a 5 year extended licence.
Speaking after the hearing, the Solicitor General, Alex Chalk QC MP said:
These were horrific acts of sexual violence against two children, including rape. No sentence can completely repair the damage caused by this man's appalling actions, but I do welcome this increased sentence which better reflects the gravity of the crimes he committed.
