Judges to rule on Stuart Hall sex attacks sentence
Stuart Hall's jail term 'did not reflect gravity' of offences
(about 7 hours later)
The Court of Appeal will rule later on whether the 15-month jail term for child abuser and former BBC broadcaster Stuart Hall should be increased.
Stuart Hall's sentence for indecent assault did not adequately reflect the gravity of his offences, the Attorney General has told the Court of Appeal.
Hall, 83, admitted 14 counts of indecent assault on girls aged between nine and 17 between 1967 and 1985.
Dominic Grieve made the submission at the start of a hearing in London.
But the Attorney General Dominic Grieve referred his sentence after some groups claimed it was "unduly lenient".
The judges are being asked to rule on whether or not Hall's 15-month sentence was "unduly lenient.
It is believed Mr Grieve's department received about 165 complaints about the length of the term.
Hall, 83, of Wilmslow, was jailed in June after admitting 14 counts against girls aged from nine to 17 between 1967 and 1985.
The NSPCC said Hall, from Wilmslow, Cheshire, had shown a "total disregard" for his victims' feelings during the case.
Mr Grieve told Lord Chief Justice Lord Judge, Lady Justice Rafferty and Mrs Justice Macur that the sentence "when coupled with the aggravating features... failed adequately to reflect the gravity of the totality of the offences, and the public concern about offences of this nature".
Prior to his guilty pleas, Hall had described the claims against him as "cruel, pernicious and spurious".
"Even if the individual sentences for each count are appropriate given the statutory maximum available, some should have been made to run consecutively so that the total sentence passed reflected the culpability of the offender, the harm caused and [would] deter others," he said.
The National Association for People Abused in Childhood said the tariff showed his crimes were not taken "seriously enough".
He added that "it appears to me that the sentence was unduly lenient".
'Serious crime'
The BBC's home affairs correspondent Danny Shaw said it was believed Mr Grieve will argue the sentence did not adequately reflect the length of time over which the offending took place - 18 years - or that some of the offences involved a breach of trust.
Hall was a familiar face and voice in British broadcasting for half a century - most recently as a football reporter for BBC Radio 5 live - and was appointed an OBE in the 2012 New Year Honours.
Preston Crown Court heard the former It's a Knockout host was an "opportunistic predator" who had used his fame to befriend girls.
Sentencing him in June, the Recorder of Preston, Judge Anthony Russell QC told Hall: "The repeated sexual abuse of young children, too young to consent and in no position to resist your advances, even if the individual acts are relatively mild, is a serious crime and it must be made clear to anyone tempted to take advantage of young children and other vulnerable victims that they face condemnation and punishment."
