R v Christopher Pearce
[2024] EWCA Crim 427
R v Connor George
10 May 2024
[2024] EWCA Crim 889
Court of Appeal
A man was sentenced to 11 years in prison for rape and having a knife. The court reduced his sentence to 10 years because the judge wrongly considered past accusations of violence that he wasn’t convicted of when deciding the punishment for the rape.
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.