Child rapist jail term reviewed

Hazelwood repeatedly raped his victim over a three-year period

The attorney general will consider whether the jail term handed to a paedophile who repeatedly raped a little girl is too lenient.

Kevin Hazelwood, 40, from Brighton, was jailed indefinitely on Thursday, but was told he must serve a minimum of just five years and seven months.

A spokeswoman confirmed Lord Goldsmith had requested papers on the case.

He has 28 days to decide whether to send the case to the Appeal Court, which could increase the tariff.

He has a statutory power to review sentencing of serious offences heard in the crown court Attorney general's spokeswoman

Last month at Lewes Crown Court, Hazelwood admitted six rapes, two attempted rapes, three sexual assaults and two indecent assaults against the girl.

He had also admitted charges of sexual activity with or in the presence of a child under 13, historic assaults on a girl dating back to the 1980s and making indecent movies of children.

He was sentenced to a minimum of four years' imprisonment for downloading pornographic images, to run concurrently with the sentence for rape and assault.

Systematic abuse

Hazelwood was on probation, under community supervision, and on a sex offenders' treatment programme at the time of the attacks.

He had been on Sex Offenders' Register for downloading child pornography, but was still able to subject the girl to a string of assaults, the court was told.

He systematically abused her over a three-year period from when she was aged about six, up until two weeks before his arrest last November.

The abuse finally came to light when the girl broke down and told her mother.

The spokeswoman for the attorney general said: "He has asked to see the case file relating to this case as he has a statutory power to review sentencing of serious offences heard in the crown court."