Paedophile sentence cut

A Wiltshire man convicted of a host of sex crimes against two underage girls has won a three-year cut in his jail term.

Robert Clive Wells, 36, of Sillington Lane, Poulshot, Devizes, was convicted of rape, nine counts of committing a sex act with a child and two of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.

He was sentenced to a total of 15 years' imprisonment at Salisbury Crown Court in September 2006. But that was today slashed to 12 years by top judges after an appeal hearing in London.

Mr Justice Cooke, sitting with Lord Justice Keene and Judge Hall, accepted that the 15-year term had been "manifestly excessive".

The judge said there were no mitigating features in the case, but Wells had argued the rape victim, aged 15, was 'sexually experienced and might therefore be treated as less vulnerable than an innocent girl'.

The rest of the charges related to a different girl, who, the Crown said, Wells had indecently touched and subjected to sex acts several times.

Wells also appealed against his convictions today, but all but one of his grounds of challenge were dismissed by the Appeal Court judges.

His final ground of appeal - based on claims that one of the witnesses in the case spoke to a juror during his trial - remains extant and will be ruled upon by the Appeal Court at a later date.

Mr Justice Cooke directed that further evidence and statements be gathered on that issue.



http://www.thisiswiltshire.co.uk/displa ... educed.php


This is disgraceful, scum like this should be hung, not allowed to walk the streets to terrorise our children. The NF would make sure that scum get what they justly deserve, the Death Penalty