Courts / Cavan / Report
Violent attacker who had it 'in his mind' to rape victim (85) has sentence increased
Summary
A man from Ballyjamesduff, Co Cavan, has had his prison sentence increased following an appeal by the Director of Public Prosecutions. Shane Smith (32) pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting an elderly woman at her home in April 2018 after forcibly entering the property early in the morning and restraining her on her bed. He also admitted falsely imprisoning the same victim. At Cavan Circuit Criminal Court in November 2020, he received four years and six months for sexual assault and one year and ten months for false imprisonment, both to run concurrently. Smith had additionally pleaded guilty to assaulting a man with a shovel and knife in November 2018. The DPP appealed on grounds of undue leniency. The Court of Appeal found that the trial judge erred in principle by imposing concurrent rather than consecutive sentences. The court increased the overall sentence to seven years, with the final twelve months suspended, determining the original sexual assault sentence was too lenient.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Violent attacker who had it 'in his mind' to rape victim (85) has sentence increased. Charges or matters: sexually assaulting the woman at her home on April 6, 2018; assaulting a man with a shovel and the knife on November 23, 2018, contrary to section three of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act. Procedural stage: appeal
When:
- April 6, 2018 Incident
- November 23, 2018 Incident
- 2021-11-18 Publication
Case subjects
Convicted Person
Charges: sexually assaulting the woman at her home on April 6, 2018; assaulting a man with a shovel and the knife on November 23, 2018, contrary to section three of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act (Admitted)
Plea: Guilty
Outcome: At the same hearing before Judge John Aylmer, Smith was sentenced to a further three years in jail after he pleaded guilty to assaulting a man with a shovel and the knife on November 23, 2018, contrary to section three of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act. The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) appealed the sentences on the grounds they were unduly lenient and that consecutive sentences should have been imposed.
Places mentioned
- At Cavan Circuit Criminal Court
- Cavan
- Court of Appeal
Topics
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