A MAN who sexually assaulted a woman in her own home as she slept while he was staying there as a guest could have his prison sentence extended.

The Attorney General’s Office (AGO) has been asked to look into the jail term handed to Darren Martyn Shaw.

Law officers have been tasked with assessing if the sentence of two years’ imprisonment was ‘unduly lenient’.

As reported Shaw, 35 and of Talbot Road, Bournemouth, admitted an offence assaulting a woman by penetration.

The victim, who was 18 at the time, had been out with friends the night before the assault in January 2019.

She went home with her friends, boyfriend and Shaw, who was known to her boyfriend but the victim had not met him before.

The woman woke at around 7am to find the defendant sexually assaulting her.

She woke her boyfriend and told him what had happened. Police were called and officers attended the address, where Shaw was arrested.

Detective Constable Michael White, of Bournemouth CID, described the incident as a “horrifying ordeal” for the victim.

During the sentencing hearing at Bournemouth Crown Court on March 22, prosecutor Sukwinder Dhadda read a statement from the woman, which said Shaw told her the assault “was all in your head”.

Representing Shaw, Tim Bradbury asked Judge Stephen Climie to issue a suspended sentence, saying the defendant was very remorseful for his actions.

Judge Climie said: “I am completely satisfied that this is one of the last cases where it is appropriate to suspend a sentence of imprisonment.

“This demonstrates violent offending towards a vulnerable woman where there was not an excuse, the only explanation was the aggravating factor or alcohol and drugs.”

Since the sentencing, Shaw’s case has been referred to the AGO in an attempted to have the sentence extended at the Court of Appeal.

A spokesperson for the AGO said: “We have received a request for the sentence of Darren Martyn Shaw to be considered under the Unduly Lenient Sentence (ULS) scheme. The law officers have 28 days from sentencing to consider the case and make a decision.”

The unduly lenient sentencing scheme only applies to crown court sentences for a selection of offences.

Once the case has been reviewed it could be sent to the Court of Appeal. If this does take place, a decision will then be taken on whether the sentence should stay the same, is unreasonably low and may increase, or the court may refuse to hear the case.