A man has been sentenced to nine months in prison after pleading guilty to two charges of serious indecent assault. The defendant’s identity has been suppressed by the court, as per Section 119 of the Criminal Offences Act.
Lord Chief Justice Malcolm Bishop KC acknowledged that a custodial sentence was inevitable, but noted that the comparable sentences presented by the prosecution were not applicable to this case. For Count 1, the judge set a starting point of 18 months, and for Count 2, a starting point of 12 months.
In delivering the sentence, Bishop clarified that the court would proceed based on the available evidence. He considered a pre-sentence report from the Probation Office, which detailed the defendant’s personal background and the circumstances of the offense.
The report also recommended a custodial sentence, noting that the defendant is the sole breadwinner for his family.
Bishop reduced the sentence by six months for Count 1 due to the defendant’s late guilty plea, which came after he faced more serious charges. He also suspended three months on both counts.
For Count 1, the final three months suspended for two years are contingent upon the defendant meeting conditions such as refraining from committing further offenses and completing a life skills awareness course.
A similar sentence was applied to Count 2, to be served concurrently with the first.
