A man “of good standing within the community” who sexually assaulted his young stepdaughter over a three- year period lost an appeal against the severity of his sentence yesterday.
The Court of Criminal Appeal, with Mr Justice Adrian Hardiman presiding, said it was not satisfied the 10-year term was “wrong in principle” given the “considerable degree of depravity involved”.
The man, who is from the southeast but who cannot be named for legal reasons, was convicted of 43 counts of sexually assaulting the girl between 2002 and 2006.
The girl was then aged between 10 and 13 years.
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The court heard that “all but one” of the assaults took place within the family home.