'Lenient' rape sentences doubled

Simon Foster (L) and Keith Fenn were both jailed in June this year

Two men convicted of raping girls have had their "unduly lenient" two-year prison sentences doubled by the Court of Appeal.

Devon chef Simon Foster, 26, raped a 12-year-old girl, and Oxford window cleaner Keith Fenn, 25, raped a 10-year-old girl.

Attorney General Baroness Scotland argued in court their original terms should not be allowed to stand.

The new sentences were described as woeful by the Victims of Crime Trust.

Fenn, of Blackbird Leys, Oxford, had been due to be released on 19 October after taking into account his time spent on remand in prison.

He was jailed at Oxford Crown Court in June this year by Judge Julian Hall, after he pleaded guilty to two charges of raping a 10-year-old.

Foster, of Britannia Avenue, Dartmouth, Devon, was sentenced the same month at Exeter Crown Court by Judge Jeffery Rucker after he admitted a series of sexual offences against a 12-year-old girl, including two counts of rape.

The message must be that sexual activity with girls of 10 and 12 will not be tolerated Baroness Scotland

In both cases, defence lawyers said the men thought the girls were older and they did not have to force them to have sex.

Director of the Victims of Crimes Trust, Norman Brennan condemned the new sentences.

"The original sentence was disgraceful, the new sentence is woeful," he said

"I believe the sentence should have been in double figures."

Baroness Scotland, the government's most senior law officer, said in a statement that she welcomed the judgement.

She said: "Sentences in cases such as this need to punish offenders for the harm they cause, protect children and act as a deterrent to others."

Baroness Scotland told the judges her concern was that in both cases "too great a discount has been afforded to the offenders by the judges who sentenced them, for the ostensible consent of the victim and the offenders' belief as to the victim's age".

"The message must be that sexual activity with girls of 10 and 12 will not be tolerated," she said.

Darren Horsman, from the Judicial Communications Office, said there is no criticism by the Court of Appeal of the judges' rulings.

The appeal judges had instead "clarified" the law relating to defendants who claim that they thought the victim was over the age of consent.

He said that gave judges a precedent for future cases.