THE prison sentence issued to a man who sexually assaulted a woman in her own home has been referred to the Court of Appeal.
Darren Martyn Shaw, 35, was jailed for two years at Bournemouth Crown Court after he admitted an offence of assaulting a woman by penetration with his finger.
As reported, a request was made to the Attorney General's Office to look into the case and see if the sentence was 'unduly lenient'.
It has now been confirmed to the Daily Echo that Solicitor General Lucy Frazer QC MP has referred the case and the prison term could be extended.
A spokesperson for the Attorney General’s Office said: “The Solicitor General was shocked by this case and wishes to express her sympathies to the victim.
“I can confirm that the Solicitor General has referred Darren Shaw's sentence to the Court of Appeal as she agrees that it is unduly lenient. It is now for the Court to decide whether to increase the sentence.”
Shaw's victim, who was 18 at the time, went out with friends in Bournemouth on the evening of January 1, 2019.
In the early hours of January 2 they met up with the victim’s boyfriend and the defendant, who was known to her boyfriend but the victim had not met him before.
They all went back to the victim’s address. The victim went to sleep, and she 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.
- Read more: Man jailed for sexually assaulting friend's girlfriend
- Read more: Man told victim "it was all in your head" after sexually assaulting her
Bournemouth Crown Court heard that Shaw, of Talbot Road, Bournemouth, told the victim after she was awoken "just remember it was all in your head".
Mitigating, Tim Bradbury said: “Mr Shaw is at a complete loss to explain what must have been going on in his mind at the time this offence occurred.
“The drink and drugs provide a partial explanation, it is an explanation that he doesn’t seem to hide behind.”
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