Key Facts
- •The respondent was convicted of 37 offences, mostly serious sex offences against three women (C, L, E) and one man (T) between 2015 and 2021.
- •Offences included multiple rapes, assaults by penetration, sexual assaults, and administering stupefying substances.
- •The respondent was sentenced to an extended sentence of 32 years (24 years custody, 8 years extended licence).
- •The Attorney General referred the sentence as unduly lenient under section 36 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988.
Legal Principles
Principles for undue leniency applications under section 36 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988.
Attorney-General’s Reference (R v Azad) [2021] EWCA Crim 1846
Section 36 applications should only be granted in exceptional circumstances and not in borderline cases.
Attorney-General’s Reference (R v Azad) [2021] EWCA Crim 1846
The Court of Appeal's role is not to re-sentence but to consider if the original sentence fell outside the reasonable range.
Attorney General’s Reference (No 4 of 1989)
Sentencing guidelines for rape and assault by penetration, including considerations for domestic abuse.
Sentencing Council Definitive Guidelines; Domestic Abuse: Overarching Principles
Life sentences are a sentence of last resort under section 285 of the Sentencing Code, unless specific criteria are met.
Attorney-General’s Reference (No 27 of 2013) (R v Burinskas)
The principle of totality must be applied when sentencing for multiple offences.
Sentencing Council Definitive Guideline on Totality
Outcomes
The Court of Appeal granted the Attorney General's application.
The 24-year custodial sentence was deemed too low given the gravity of the offences. The judge's decision not to impose a life sentence was upheld, but the custodial sentence was increased to reflect the overall seriousness of the crimes.
The original sentence was substituted with an extended sentence of 38 years (30 years custody, 8 years extended licence).
The increased custodial sentence of 30 years better reflects the severity and totality of the respondent's crimes against multiple victims.