Court of Appeal clarify how to set the minimum term for discretionary life sentences for violent and sexual offences

News

21/05/2021

Tom Little QC appeared in the Court of Appeal on behalf of the Attorney General in a Reference on the correct approach to the calculation of the length of the minimum term imposed on an offender who over a period of 4 ½ years engaged in a campaign of serious sexual abuse and humiliation of 23 child victims, whose ages ranged from 4 months to 13 years. The offender put himself in a position to commit these offences by exploiting positions of trust he obtained in the homes of seven unsuspecting families, as an au pair, nanny or babysitter. He obtained this employment by forging references, setting up false email accounts or taking other measures to ensure that any requests for references received thoroughly reassuring responses. He then used that employment to secure childcare or baby-sitting work with the friends of his employers. The Court of Appeal accepted Tom Little QC’s submissions that the effect of the Release of Prisoners (Alteration of Relevant Proportion of Sentence) Order 2020 meant that the minimum term for sentences imposed since April 2020 for certain violent or sexual offences should be two thirds of the notional determinate sentence as opposed to the previous practice of half of that sentence. The judgment handed down today provides clarity on an issue that had led to inconsistent approaches being taken by Judges in the Crown Court. A copy of the judgment can be found here.

Featured Counsel

Tom Little KC

Call 1997 | Silk 2018

Latest News & Events

Adam Dawson awarded MBE in King’s Birthday Honours List 2025

Chambers congratulates Adam Dawson upon being awarded an MBE for services to charity and service to the Jewish Community. For over 30 years Adam has been involved in the heart of the Jewish community, leading several charities and organisations. After a year as Chair of…

The Dekagram: 9th June 2025

This week Russell Wilcox and Thomas Clarke examine whether in applications to set aside default judgment there exists such a thing as a ‘co-defendant principle’; essential reading for all practitioners. Co-defendants and Applications to Set Aside: the More the Merrier? In the recent case of…

URS v BDW – The winner takes it all…

Introduction On Wednesday 21st of May, the Supreme Court handed down judgment in the long-awaited case of URS Corporation Ltd v BDW Trading Ltd [2025] UKSC 21.  The judgment was awaited by almost all with an interest in construction law and related professional negligence. BDW…

Subscribe to our mailing list

Deka Chambers: 5 Norwich Street, London EC4A 1DR

© Deka Chambers 2025

Search

Portfolio Builder

Select the expertise that you would like to download or add to the portfolio

Download    Add to portfolio   
Portfolio
Title Type CV Email

Remove All

Download


Click here to share this shortlist.
(It will expire after 30 days.)