Key Facts
- •Julian Myerscough, a criminal law lecturer, was convicted in 2010 of possessing indecent images of children.
- •In 2015, he was convicted of further offences relating to indecent images of children and breaching a Sexual Offences Prevention Order, but absconded to Ireland.
- •A European Arrest Warrant (EAW) was issued, and he was arrested in Ireland, resisting extradition for 21 months before release.
- •He was sentenced in absentia in 2017 to 3 years and 6 months' imprisonment.
- •He subsequently fled to Romania, where he was arrested on another EAW for more serious sexual offences against young girls.
- •In 2019, he was convicted of these offences and sentenced to an extended sentence of 26 years.
- •The appeal concerned credit for time spent on remand in Ireland and Romania.
Legal Principles
Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 1992: Protects the anonymity of victims of sexual offences.
Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 1992
Framework Decision 2002/584/JHA: Governs the deduction of detention periods served in the executing Member State.
Framework Decision 2002/584/JHA
Criminal Justice Act 2003 (s. 243): Specifies how to account for time spent in custody while awaiting extradition to the UK.
Criminal Justice Act 2003
Prison Act 1952 (s. 49(3A)): Deals with time spent in custody in a category 1 territory awaiting extradition under a conviction warrant.
Prison Act 1952
Withdrawal Agreement: Continues the effect of the Framework Decision for cases where a person is arrested under an EAW before 31 January 2021.
Withdrawal Agreement
European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (s. 7A): Gives effect to the Withdrawal Agreement in domestic law.
European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018
Court's discretion to adjust a lawful sentence is limited; it cannot intervene simply because subsequent events make the sentence unjust.
R v Prenga [2017] EWCA Crim 249 and R v Flynn [2022] EWCA Crim 1102
Outcomes
Appeal allowed in part.
HHJ Goodin should have specified the 17 days spent in custody in Romania under s. 243(2) of the 2003 Act. The time spent in Ireland on remand does not count towards the sentence.
Permission to appeal refused on other grounds.
No errors of principle or approach in the judge's sentence; the sentence was not too high; arguments regarding double-counting and reliance on various pieces of evidence were rejected.