Sentences increased for three men who raped missing 14-year-old in London
Three London men who raped a 14-year-old girl had their prison sentences extended by the Court of Appeal after the Attorney General deemed them unduly lenient.
Court of Appeal lengthens jail terms for south-east London rape trio
Three men from Lewisham, south-east London, who raped a 14-year-old girl after she disappeared from home have had their sentences extended on appeal, bbc.com reports.
Daryl German, 43, Jordan Doneley Wint, 31, and Deon Smith, 45, were originally sentenced at Woolwich Crown Court in April. Attorney General Ellie Reeves subsequently referred the case to the Court of Appeal on the grounds that the original terms were unduly lenient.
On Thursday, judges added three years to German's sentence, two and a half years to Wint's and two years to Smith's. German will now serve 18 years, plus a further three years on extended licence. Wint's sentence rises to eight years and six months, and Smith's to nine years.
The court heard that German found the girl and brought her to his flat. Over the following 48 hours he arranged for her to be taken to other addresses, where she was raped. When he became aware from social media appeals that she had been reported missing, he instructed her to phone her parents, tell them she was safe and have the appeals removed.
Police located the girl and arrested all three men. Officers found 14 indecent images of her on German's phone.
German was convicted of three counts of rape, one count of arranging or facilitating travel with a view to exploitation, and two counts of making indecent images of children. Wint was convicted of rape and assault by penetration, and Smith was convicted of rape. All three were placed on the sex offenders register for life at the time of their original sentencing in April.
Reeves said the offences amounted to "an appalling series of rapes and sexual assaults, carried out by three men over several days on a vulnerable child who should have been kept safe and returned to her family." She added that she welcomed the Court of Appeal's decision, saying it ensured "all three men spend longer in prison."
Source: Google News IE — Crime (en)