Greater Manchester man has sentence for child cruelty increased following referral to the Court of Appeal
A man from Greater Manchester has received an increased sentence for child cruelty after his case was referred under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme.
A man from Greater Manchester has received an increased sentence for child cruelty after his case was referred to the Court of Appeal by the Solicitor General, Alex Chalk QC MP.
The offender, who cannot be named for legal reasons, engaged in a course of extensive physical and emotional abuse against the victim, which amounted to a case of cruelty to a person under 16 years.
This abuse included regular beatings, with one assault resulting in the victim suffering a fractured finger. To conceal their actions, the offender intentionally acted to isolate the victim and would forbid them from attending school or seeing friends when they had visible bruising.
On 15 December 2021, the offender was sentenced to 3 years and 4 months’ imprisonment at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court.
Following the sentencing, the Solicitor General referred the sentence to the Court of Appeal under the Unduly Lenient Sentence (ULS) scheme.
On 10 March 2022 the Court of Appeal found the original sentence to be unduly lenient and increased it to 6 years’ imprisonment.
Speaking after the hearing, the Solicitor General, Alex Chalk QC MP said:
Cruelty to children is cowardly and abhorrent. This increased sentence reflects the severity of the offences that occurred and demonstrates that any act of cruelty against a child will be met with robust punishment.