Key Facts
- •Connor George was convicted of rape and possession of a bladed article.
- •The rape involved the appellant forcing himself on C1, despite her repeated pleas to stop.
- •An audio recording of the rape was captured on C1's mobile phone.
- •The appellant was initially sentenced to 11 years' imprisonment (10 years for rape, 1 year consecutive for the bladed article).
- •The sentencing judge categorized the rape as a Category 2A offence due to alleged prior violence, despite the Crown offering no evidence on related charges, leading to not guilty verdicts.
Legal Principles
Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 1992: Restrictions on publishing information that could identify victims of sexual offences.
Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 1992
Sentencing guidelines for rape: Categorization of offences and considerations for sentencing.
Sentencing Council's guidelines for rape
The sentencing judge cannot consider allegations that resulted in a not guilty verdict to increase the severity of sentencing.
Case Law
Outcomes
Appeal against sentence allowed.
The Recorder erred in categorizing the rape as a Category 2A offence based on unproven allegations of prior violence. The correct categorization was 2B.
Sentence reduced from 11 years to 10 years.
The 10-year sentence for rape was reduced to 9 years reflecting a Category 2B offence, while the 1-year sentence for possessing a bladed weapon remained unchanged.