Courts / Wexford / Report
Child rapist who held knife to girl's throat will now serve over 15 years in prison after sentence appeal goes awry
Summary
The Court of Appeal increased the 46‑year‑old child rapist's sentence from 11 to 16 years after rejecting his appeal. He abused a girl aged eight to eleven, tying her to a bed, holding a knife to her throat and threatening her before raping her. The judge noted that this single offence alone warranted a headline sentence at the top end of the mid‑range, and that the original 13½‑year headline was too low. The appeal was dismissed, and the court quashed the original sentence, resentencing the offender to 16 years with the final six months suspended. The conviction remains for eight counts of rape, nine of anal rape, eight of oral rape and nine of sexual assault, with a two‑year post‑release supervision period retained. The victim, whose identity is protected, suffered lasting mental health effects and remains on medication for anxiety and sleep. The unnamed 46-year-old was acquitted.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Child rapist who held knife to girl's throat will now serve over 15 years in prison after sentence appeal goes awry. Procedural stage: appeal. Findings: Acquitted
When:
- August 2014 Incident
- August 2017 Incident
- 2024-07-11 Publication
Case subjects
Appellant
Finding: Acquitted
Outcome: Acquitted; The man, who does not accept the jury's verdicts, was sentenced to 11 years in prison by Ms Justice Karen O'Connor, who also imposed a period of two years post-release supervision. Setting a headline sentence of 20 years for the rape offences, Ms Justice Kennedy said the court would reduce this to 16 years and leave the sentences for the sexual assault charges the same as imposed by the original sentencing judge.
Places mentioned
Topics
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