McIlveen sentences 'not lenient'

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Jail terms handed down to the killers of a Catholic schoolboy in Northern Ireland were not too lenient, the Attorney General's office has ruled.

Sentences of 10 to 13 years were given to four men earlier this month for beating to death 15-year Michael McIlveen in Ballymena three years ago.

The Director of Public Prosecutions asked the Attorney General's office whether they could be increased.

The boy's family considered the sentences to be too lenient.

The matter was passed to Solicitor General Vera Baird QC who announced on Friday that the trial judge had been correct.

"In the Solicitor General's view, the sentences fall within the range of sentence that it was reasonable for the judge to impose," a statement from the Attorney General's office said.

"The Solicitor General cannot therefore apply for leave to refer these sentences.

'No remorse'

"The Solicitor General is sorry for the disappointment her decision will cause the McIlveen family, who have been informed."

Aaron Cavana Wallace, 20, of Moat Road, Christopher Francis Kerr, 22, of Carnduff Drive, Jeff Colin Lewis, 19, of Rossdale, and Mervyn Wilson Moon, 20, of Douglas Terrace, all in Ballymena, murdered the schoolboy.

The highest minimum tariff of 13 years was handed to Kerr, whom the trial judge said had shown no remorse and had lied consistently throughout the proceedings.

Trial judge Mr Justice Treacy said the fact that Kerr had also gone to his grandmother's house to obtain the baseball bat used to kill Michael showed his part in the murder was premeditated.

Wallace and Lewis were given 11-year tariffs - lesser terms because they had no part in procuring the bat or using it, the judge said.

Mr Treacy gave Moon credit for his timely plea of guilty and said he had shown clear and genuine remorse for his actions. He was given a 10-year minimum tariff.

Michael McIlveen was chased by a drunken loyalist mob into an alleyway close to Ballymena's town centre, in May 2006.

He was hit with a baseball bat and kicked.

He managed to make it back to his home but collapsed in his room and died later in hospital from brain injuries.