Bath girl rapist loses appeal bid

Voisey sexually assaulted the young girl several times

A man who raped a girl of six after snatching her from her bath has lost his bid to appeal against sentence.

Peter Voisey snatched the girl from her North Tyneside home, sexually abused her, then abandoned her in an alley.

The 35-year-old was found guilty of abduction, rape and sexual assault and sentenced to life, with a minimum tariff of 10 years in prison.

On Wednesday, London's Court of Appeal ruled that he had "no arguable ground of complaint" against his term.

Voisey grabbed the girl from her ground-floor bathroom in Willington Quay on 27 December 2005.

He put his hand over her mouth and told her that if she made a noise she would never see her family again.

So long as he poses a danger to others he must remain in prison Mr Justice Walker, Court of Appeal

Repeating the threats, he sexually assaulted her several times, then dumped the six-year-old naked and screaming in the snow-covered alley.

Voisey, also known as Smith, of Blyth, Northumberland, had denied the offences, but was convicted at Newcastle Crown Court in October 2006.

Sentencing him, Judge David Hodson, said: "I am in no doubt whatsoever that you are a dangerous predatory male who poses a serious risk."

Announcing the Court of Appeal's decision, Mr Justice Walker stressed that although Voisey could seek parole after he had served the minimum term "it does not mean that he has been sentenced only to the minimum term".

He added: "He has been sentenced to life imprisonment and that means that so long as he poses a danger to others he must remain in prison."