DISTURBING | 

Jail sentences for sickos who raped vulnerable child (12) ‘not unduly lenient’, court rules

Attempts to have Gerard McKenna (31) and Paul Sheridan (26) serve longer periods behind bars were rejected

Today at 08:20

Sentences imposed on two men for abducting and raping a 12-year-old girl were not unduly lenient, the Court of Appeal ruled.

Senior judges in Belfast rejected attempts by the Public Prosecution Service to have Gerard McKenna, 31, and Paul Sheridan, 26, serve longer periods behind bars.

Lady Chief Justice Dame Siobhan Keegan held that the prison terms they received were within the appropriate range for the offences.

She said: “Whilst this court understands the concerns raised in what is a disturbing case, we cannot say that the sentence meets the high test for undue lenience.”

In October last year the pair were jailed for the abduction and rape of the vulnerable girl at a beauty spot outside Belfast.

She was attacked on the Lagan towpath near Lisburn while with a 15-year-old friend two days before Christmas in 2019.

A jury heard the girls had been plied with vodka and offered cocaine during the incident.

Sheridan, from Hillfoot Crescent in Ballynahinch, pleaded guilty to rape, sexual assault and child abduction.

He received a sentence of six and a half years.

McKenna, originally from the Whiterock area of west Belfast, protested his innocence at trial.

But following conviction for rape, sexual assault, child abduction, offering to supply a Class A drug and sexual touching of the other girl, he was handed a nine-year prison term.

The PPS referred both sentences to the Court of Appeal, claiming they were unduly lenient.

But Dame Siobhan said the trial judge was uniquely placed to assess all relevant aggravating and mitigating factors.

She acknowledged it was a difficult case which engendered strong emotions because of the vulnerability of the victims.

“This type of offending is also deprecated by our society and so there is a deterrent aspect to any sentence imposed,” the Chief Justice said.

“However… (they) were imposed by a highly experienced criminal judge with considerable care in a manner which we cannot criticise.”

Despite describing McKenna’s nine-year term as lenient, she added: “Whilst at the lowest possible end of the range, the sentence was within the range open to the judge.”

With both offenders designated as dangerous, Dame Siobhan also highlighted how they may end up serving more time in jail under the terms of their extended custodial sentences.

Any release on licence during that period will involve a risk assessment by the Parole Commissioners.

Dismissing the PPS reference, the Chief Justice reiterated: “Lengthy extended custodial sentences have been applied in this case to reflect society’s abhorrence of such crimes and to deter those who offend in this way.”