Judges Lash Soft Sentences In Gang Rape
By Sarah Crichton
Originally published in the The Sydney Morning Herald, February 2, 2002
Appeal judges have attacked controversial prison terms for three teenage boys convicted over the gang rape of two girls, with one saying he couldn't understand why the sentences were not close to "serious double figures."
Justice Brian Sully said the Department of Public Prosecutions should have pressed the case as one of the worst instances of aggravated sexual assault.
"I do not understand how a sentencing judge could have started out with anything other than serious double figures."
District Court Judge Megan Latham's August ruling came under the microscope in the Court of Criminal Appeal yesterday before a panel of three judges, led by Justice Margaret Beazley.
The three teenagers, known as AEM snr, aged 19, and KEM and MM, both 16, were sentenced to maximums ranging between five years and six months in jail and six years and four months for the assaults against the girls, then aged 16.
Two of the teenagers faced a minimum of four years, while the third is eligible for parole after three years and six months. The crimes carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in jail.
While the appeal judges' decision is reserved, all three criticised the terms imposed by Judge Latham.
"The sentences here are miles away from the maximum," Justice James Wood said. Justice Beazley found it "worrying" that the three faced only a fraction of the maximum.
She questioned whether it had been "an oversight" that AEM Snr had received virtually the same term as a co-accused, who assaulted one of the girls, when he had assaulted both.
However, counsel for AEM snr, Peter Hastings, QC, told the court Judge Latham had not erred. The jail terms reflected the pattern of sentencing for similar cases.
The High Court had also raised doubts over whether the Court of Criminal Appeal could unilaterally prescribe a range of sentences, he said.
The judges hinted that KEM and MM may be required to serve out part of their sentences in an adult prison due to legislation introduced last month in reaction to the furore surrounding their case. Judge Latham had ruled they should serve their entire terms in a juvenile centre.
The NSW Director of Public Prosecutions appealed against the sentences after an outcry from sections of the community and the State Government.
The girls were subjected to a five-hour ordeal after they accepted a lift from a group of young men and were taken to a house in Villawood, where they were raped repeatedly.
Crown prosecutor Greg Smith said Judge Latham's sentences were "manifestly inadequate" for the circumstances and did not properly reflect the intention of Parliament when it increased the penalty for gang rape in 1991.
Outside the court, the father of one of the girls said he believed his love had helped his daughter break the sense of shame she had grappled with since the crime.
"I'd encourage any father that has found himself in a situation like mine to love his daughter to death," he said. He said he pitied the parents of the offenders for the shame they must be feeling.
"I just wouldn't know how to cope if my son did that."
