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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| 'Lenient' rape sentences appealed | 'Lenient' rape sentences appealed |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| The attorney general has gone to court to appeal against the "unduly lenient" sentences given to two men convicted of raping under-age girls. | The attorney general has gone to court to appeal against the "unduly lenient" sentences given to two men convicted of raping under-age girls. |
| Baroness Scotland appeared at the Appeal Court to get the two-year jail sentences imposed on Keith Fenn and Simon Foster increased. | Baroness Scotland appeared at the Appeal Court to get the two-year jail sentences imposed on Keith Fenn and Simon Foster increased. |
| In both cases, lawyers said the men thought the girls were older and they did not have to force them to have sex. | In both cases, lawyers said the men thought the girls were older and they did not have to force them to have sex. |
| The appeal judges are now considering the cases, Lady Scotland's office said. | The appeal judges are now considering the cases, Lady Scotland's office said. |
| Under the law, sex with under-13s is classed as rape regardless of consent. | Under the law, sex with under-13s is classed as rape regardless of consent. |
| Sentencing guidelines dictate that such offences carry jail terms of eight to 13 years, and the attorney general believes the two years handed down are "unduly lenient". | |
| Public confidence | Public confidence |
| The BBC's Danny Shaw said both victims had been virgins and had been "emotionally and physically" affected by their ordeals. | |
| He added that Lady Scotland believed public confidence in the court's ability to protect young girls would suffer if the sentences were not increased. | |
| Window cleaner Fenn, 24, was given two years after a judge said the 10-year-old girl, who was assaulted in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, had appeared older. | Window cleaner Fenn, 24, was given two years after a judge said the 10-year-old girl, who was assaulted in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, had appeared older. |
| Judge Julian Hall later told a select committee of MPs that he stood by the sentence. | |
| During the trial in June, Oxford Crown Court heard that Fenn, from Blackbird Leys in Oxford, raped the girl in a park on 14 October 2006, before an accomplice, Darren Wright, 34, took her home and sexually assaulted her. | During the trial in June, Oxford Crown Court heard that Fenn, from Blackbird Leys in Oxford, raped the girl in a park on 14 October 2006, before an accomplice, Darren Wright, 34, took her home and sexually assaulted her. |
| Also in June, Judge Jeffery Rucker "reluctantly" jailed Simon Foster, 26, for two years after he admitted two charges of rape and sexual assault by penetration at Exeter Crown Court. | Also in June, Judge Jeffery Rucker "reluctantly" jailed Simon Foster, 26, for two years after he admitted two charges of rape and sexual assault by penetration at Exeter Crown Court. |
| The court heard how Foster met the 12-year-old on the internet and then on three occasions on Teignmouth seafront in Devon. | The court heard how Foster met the 12-year-old on the internet and then on three occasions on Teignmouth seafront in Devon. |
| The girl had told Foster, of Britannia Avenue, Dartmouth, she was aged 15. | The girl had told Foster, of Britannia Avenue, Dartmouth, she was aged 15. |