Anderson, R. v

A sentence appeal will not succeed merely because the offender pleaded guilty or had not previously been imprisoned. A substantial immediate custodial sentence may be within the appropriate range where an offender subjects a vulnerable and helpless person to prolonged, deliberate and degrading conduct. The gravity of the conduct, its duration, the victim’s vulnerability and the invasion of her dignity may justify a sentence above that indicated by an earlier authority.

The applicant pleaded guilty before Hartlepool Magistrates’ Court to an act outraging public decency and was committed to the Crown Court for sentence. At Teesside Crown Court, Judge Fox QC imposed three years’ imprisonment.

The offence concerned sustained degrading conduct towards a vulnerable woman who had collapsed in the street and was later found to have died from natural causes. The applicant threw water over her, urinated on her, sprayed her with shaving foam and covered her with flooring. The conduct lasted about 30 minutes.

After the single judge refused leave, the applicant renewed his application to appeal against sentence. The issue was whether the sentence was arguably excessive.

1. The renewed application for leave to appeal against sentence was refused. The court held that it could not conclude that the three-year sentence was arguably excessive.

2. The offence was exceptionally serious because it involved deliberate, prolonged and degrading conduct towards a vulnerable woman who lay helpless on the pavement. The applicant’s conduct included throwing water over her, urinating on her, applying shaving foam and covering her body with flooring.

3. The sentencing judge was entitled to treat the conduct as a grave oppression and invasion of the victim’s personality and privacy. Its shocking and sustained nature justified a longer custodial term than that indicated by an unspecified earlier authority.

4. The court took account of the applicant’s guilty plea and his lack of previous imprisonment. Those matters did not render the sentence excessive in light of the aggravating features, including the victim’s vulnerability, the duration of the conduct and the applicant’s continued participation.

• Court of Appeal (Criminal Division): The renewed application for leave to appeal against the three-year sentence was refused.
• Crown Court: At Teesside Crown Court, Judge Fox QC sentenced the applicant to three years’ imprisonment on 26 October 2007.
• Magistrates’ Court: Following a guilty plea before Hartlepool Magistrates’ Court, the applicant was committed to the Crown Court for sentence.