SENTENCING GUIDELINES

The Northern Ireland Court of Appeal reiterated the approach set out in R. v McKeown (Gary) [2013] NICA 28, namely that although assistance might be derived from the aggravating and mitigating features identified by the England and Wales Sentencing Guidelines Council in its definitive guidance, judges and practitioners in Northern Ireland were not constrained by those guidelines.

A total sentence of four-and-a-half years’ imprisonment imposed on an offender following his conviction for a number of sexual offences committed against his stepdaughter over a five-year period was unduly lenient. The sentence was increased to seven years’ imprisonment.

In passing sentence for sexual assault, a judge had been entitled to take an adjusted starting point of six years’ imprisonment, as opposed to one of 12 months as recommended in the sentencing guidelines. The offence had been replete with aggravating factors and, save for a guilty plea, devoid of any mitigation. The judge had correctly observed that the guidelines were precisely such: guidelines, not tram lines.

Sentences totalling 16 months’ imprisonment were unduly lenient, having been imposed following an offender’s guilty pleas to 15 counts of causing or inciting, or attempting to incite, children to engage in sexual activity where the offender had contacted up to 220 children via Facebook. A sentence of four years was appropriate.

A sentence of three-and-a-half years’ imprisonment imposed following an offender’s conviction for kidnapping a 10-year-old child and inciting her to engage in sexual activity was not unduly lenient given the circumstances, which did not fit within the sentencing guidelines and included a relatively short duration kidnap and the fact that no sexual activity had taken place.

A discretionary life sentence imposed under the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000 for assault on a child under 13 by penetration was not excessive. The offender was a predatory paedophile with previous convictions for sexual offences against children and the offence was of sufficient seriousness to warrant life imprisonment.

A sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment imposed for 12 counts of committing indecent assault was reduced to 12 years in the light of the maximum sentence for each offence, the sentencing guidelines, the offender’s age and disability, and the fact that for a historic offence he would serve two-thirds of his sentence in custody.

A total sentence of five years’ imprisonment imposed for two sexual assaults was manifestly excessive and was reduced to three years. The judge had been entitled to find that the aggravating features moved the offences out of the third category in the definitive guideline for sexual assault, but he had erred in passing a sentence on one count which was at the starting point of the first category.

The court quashed a sentence of 14 months’ imprisonment imposed after an offender’s guilty plea to outraging public decency by taking video footage underneath women’s skirts without their knowledge. A community order with a requirement to attend a sex offender programme was more likely to lead to the offender’s rehabilitation than a custodial sentence and would therefore best serve the interests of the public.