The Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal against the severity of a four-year prison sentence imposed for sexual assault, finding the sentence proportionate and just in the circumstances.
The appellant, identified in the judgment as TMcC, was convicted of rape and sexual assault on two counts of a six-count indictment. The sentencing judge imposed four years’ imprisonment on the sexual assault count and took the rape count into consideration. The appeal concerned the sentence’s severity; the Court of Appeal did not revisit the convictions.
The judgment said the rape occurred between 1995 and 1998, when the appellant was aged 12 to 14 and his younger sister was aged 8 to 10, in the family home. It said she pleaded with him to stop and that an older sister interrupted the incident and took her from the room.
The sexual assault occurred between March and November 2004, when the appellant was 21 and his sister was 16. She was asleep on a couch and awoke to find him pulling her trousers down to her knees. She fought him off, left the house and disclosed what had happened to a friend.
The sentencing judge identified the complainant’s young age and the breach of trust as aggravating factors. In mitigation, the judge considered the appellant’s age at the time of the rape, the time elapsed, his lack of previous convictions and his blame-free life since the offences. The judge set a headline sentence of seven years for the sexual assault, then reduced it to four years after considering mitigation. The rape count was taken into consideration.
On appeal, the appellant argued that the sentence was excessive and that the judge had not given sufficient weight to his youth, time without further offending, rehabilitation, work history and low risk of reoffending. He also argued that the judge should have considered whether an older sibling influenced him. The prosecution submitted that the judge had properly considered the mitigating factors and that the sibling did not play a part in the offence carrying the prison term.
The Court of Appeal said the earlier rape properly aggravated the later sexual assault, alongside the breach of trust and the complainant’s age. It was not persuaded that the judge had erred either in setting the headline sentence or in the reduction for mitigation. The appeal was dismissed.