An appeal by the DPP against the "undue leniency" of a five-year suspended sentence imposed on an American man who gave Woodies alcohol to two 12-year-old girls and then sexually assaulted them in his home was dismissed by the Court of Criminal Appeal yesterday.
The court was told that victim impact assessment reports on the girls had found that they appeared to have recovered from the incident and were not suffering any long-term effects.
Mr Maurice Gaffney SC, for the DPP, argued that undue leniency had been shown in sentencing the 30-year-old man, given the premeditated and deplorable offences that had occurred.
Mr Gaffney said the court should send out a message that, if a person indulged in this sort of conduct, the least they could expect to get was a custodial sentence.
Mr Michael McDowell, for the accused, pointed out that the man had spent nine months in custody on charges arising out of the incident. This was the equivalent of a year in jail with remission.
Mr Justice Hugh O'Flaherty, presiding, said the assault on the girls had stopped very short of full sexual intercourse. Fortunately, the victims had come through the trauma.
Having regard to the progress apparently made by the accused, and all the circumstances of the case, no further public interest would be served by adding to the sentence already given, the judge said.