Sex offender jailed 'for life'

A man who stabbed and wounded two women in an attack outside a Belfast bar has been jailed for life.

Kenneth John Scott, 29, of no fixed address, who admitted wounding the women in the attack outside a city centre bar in 2001, appeared before Belfast Crown Court on Wednesday.

He is believed to be only the second man in the province's legal history to be jailed for life for a crime other than taking a life.

Judge Anthony Hart ordered that Scott "should not be released" until the authorities were satisfied it was safe to do so and under "a stringent level of supervision".

These attacks were very serious, and it is only by great good fortune that the consequences were not very grave, indeed fatal

Anthony Hart
Judge

"Given the very high risk that the defendant poses to the public in the future - I consider that the defendant should not be released until there is substantial evidence to suggest that he is successfully addressing his propensity to violence and his alcohol and drug abuse," said Judge Hart.

"In addition, given the high risk that the defendant will fail to comply with any requirements that maybe imposed under the licence (to release him), a stringent level of supervision can be imposed - in the light of all the information available to the authorities at that time."

Judge Hart added that he was "satisfied that these requirements were essential for the protection of the public and can only be met by a life sentence".

Although Scott could apply for release after eight years under the terms of his life sentence, Judge Hart said he "should emphasise that did not mean Scott would be automatically released".

Scars

"Whether it is safe to release him after that date will be for the Life Sentence Review Commission to decide in the light of all the information available at that time," he added.

The court had heard that in the early hours of 15 November 2001 the two girls were standing outside White's Tavern in the centre of Belfast when approached by Scott, who had taken a cocktail of drink and painkillers.

After indecently assaulting one of the women they told him "in no uncertain terms" to leave, and although he appeared to do so, returned moments later.

He pushed one women against the shutter of the pub door and and stabbed her in the back, before turning the clasp knife on her friend and repeatedly stabbed her, slashing away at her head and body.

"These attacks were very serious, and it is only by great good fortune that the consequences were not very grave, indeed fatal," said Judge Hart.

Both women have been left with scars, one of them to her back, while her friend has been left with 13 scars to her head, chest, abdomen, upper back, arm and hand.