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'Unfair' to make suspended portion of child rapist's sentence dependant on acknowledging guilt, court rules
Summary
In a 2025 Court of Appeal decision, the court declared it unlawful and unfair to tie the suspended portion of a convicted rapist's sentence to his participation in a sex‑offender rehabilitation programme that required him to acknowledge guilt, despite his maintained innocence. The 58‑year‑old man had been convicted in 2018 of five counts of raping his cousin in 1985 and 1986 and one attempted rape in 1984. He received a headline sentence of six years for the attempted rape and nine years for the four rape counts. The original sentencing judge had suspended the final year of the nine‑year term if the defendant completed the "Building Better Lives" programme.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: 'Unfair' to make suspended portion of child rapist's sentence dependant on acknowledging guilt, court rules. Procedural stage: appeal. Findings: Convicted
When:
- January 1984 Other
- June 2018 Hearing Or Sentence
- 1985 and 1986 Incident
- 2025-01-16 Publication
Case subjects
Convicted Person
Finding: Convicted
Outcome: Convicted; Following the jury verdict, the man was sentenced in July that year to headline sentences of six years for the attempted rape on his cousin and to nine years for four sample counts of rape. The court imposed the same sentence, backdated to the commencement of the appellant's jail term. "We will suspend the unserved balance of the nine-year sentence for a period of one year, subject to a bond to keep the peace and be of good behaviour," he said.
Places mentioned
- Court of Appeal
- Central Criminal Court
Topics
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