R v MJB
[2024] EWCA Crim 1011
R v Anandarajah Bremakumar
10 May 2023
[2023] EWCA Crim 545
Court of Appeal
A man was given a too-short prison sentence for repeatedly abusing a 13-year-old girl he knew. A higher court increased his sentence because the original one didn't consider all the bad things he did and the harm he caused.
Key Facts
- •The offender, a 61-year-old man, was convicted of four counts of sexual activity with a 13-year-old girl (AB), the daughter of close friends.
- •The offences occurred over three weeks during the school summer holidays.
- •The offender was sentenced to 30 months' imprisonment on each count, to run concurrently, plus a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order and a Restraining Order.
- •The Attorney General referred the sentence as unduly lenient under section 36 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988.
- •The offender held a position of trust within their temple community.
- •AB suffered severe psychological harm as a result of the abuse.
- •The offender had two previous convictions for non-sexual offences.
Legal Principles
Sentencing for sexual offences against children, considering aggravating and mitigating factors, and the totality principle.
Sentencing Council Guideline for Sexual Offences
Reporting restrictions under the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 1992.
Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 1992
Attorney General's power to refer unduly lenient sentences.
Criminal Justice Act 1988
Outcomes
The Court of Appeal granted leave to refer the sentence.
The original sentence did not adequately reflect the seriousness of the offences and the harm caused to the victim, failing to apply the totality principle correctly.
The Court of Appeal quashed the original sentence of 30 months' imprisonment on count 4 and substituted a sentence of four years' imprisonment.
An uplift was necessary to reflect the four counts of offending and the severity of the harm caused. The Court found the original sentence unduly lenient.
The victim surcharge order was quashed as unlawful.
The offending predated the relevant victim surcharge provisions.