The Court of Appeal increased the suspended portion of a seven-year sentence imposed on Giovanni Obaseki for a 2012 robbery, after finding that the original sentence did not sufficiently reflect the mitigating factors. The court left the seven-year headline sentence in place and resentenced him to serve a net three years and six months.
Obaseki had pleaded guilty to robbing Francis Crossan on 8 September 2012. The sentencing court imposed seven years’ imprisonment, suspending the final two years. The appeal concerned the severity of that sentence. The Court of Appeal said the appellant did not argue that the seven-year headline term fell outside the sentencing judge’s legitimate discretion; the issue was whether the discount for mitigation was enough.
Evidence before the sentencing court was that Crossan was attacked by three men outside 90 North King Street in Dublin. He suffered fractures to his right leg and left arm, and his phone, glasses and tobacco case were taken. Medical evidence described multiple operations, a prolonged recovery and a risk of post-traumatic osteoarthritis. Crossan told the court the assault affected his mobility, work and sense of safety.
The sentencing court had also considered Obaseki’s guilty pleas and cooperation, his age of 19 at the time, lack of previous convictions, personal circumstances and rehabilitation. A probation report assessed him as presenting a low risk of reoffending. He had left the jurisdiction during the prosecution and was returned from Spain under a European Arrest Warrant in December 2015. The sentencing judge imposed concurrent sentences for other offences on separate bills; those sentences were not the subject of this appeal.
The Court of Appeal concluded that suspending two years amounted to an overall mitigation discount of about 30%, which was insufficient given the significant mitigating factors. It said greater weight should have been given to rehabilitation, particularly because Obaseki was a young first offender who had taken steps to turn his life around. The court found an error of principle, quashed the original sentence and proceeded to resentence him.
The court maintained the seven-year headline term, but suspended three years and six months, leaving three years and six months to be served. It also ordered Obaseki to enter a €100 bond to keep the peace and be of good behaviour for three years from 8 December 2016.