A CHILD rapist who was jailed for five years had another four added to his sentence yesterday after judges pledged to do all they could to stop sexual attacks on children.
David Moore (25), a former member of the Territorial Army from Rathvarna Drive, Lisburn, Co Antrim, was in the Appeal Court in Belfast to hear his crime described as "grave and wicked".
Moore was jailed in October after he pleaded guilty to raping an eight-year-old girl at Lisburn in May 1993. The Attorney General referred the case to the Appeal Court because he thought the original sentence "unduly lenient".
Lord Justice MacDermott, delivering the reserved judgment of the three judges who heard the review in January, said the rape was particularly grave because the victim was a child. Moore was armed with a knife and he threatened to kill her and two little boys unless she stopped crying.
Lord MacDermott added: "The threat of sexual abuse to children in modern society has become so grave that severe sentences must be passed on those who rape little children." The sentence of nine years was a warning that the courts were determined to stop sexual attacks on children by imposing severe sentences.
"Those who are tempted to sexually attack children must realise that if they do so, they will be very seriously punished on conviction," said Lord MacDermott.
Outside the court, the parents of the girl, now aged 11, called for a review of the judicial system for child molesters and sex offenders to alleviate the frustrations and anguish of the victims and their families.
They also suggested the introduction of a register of sex offenders to ensure that when molesters were released and relocated they were not in a position to re-offend.
"How many more vulnerable, innocent children out there never obtain adequate justice," they asked.
On the increased sentence, the girl's father said: "It is nice to see the courts are heading in the right direction."