REGINA v MICHAEL WATSON

When sentencing multiple sexual assaults, the court must assess the offending as a whole. Although individual offences may fall within a lower guideline category, a custodial term above the starting point may be justified by totality and significant aggravating features. Relevant features may include similar previous sexual offending, offending while on licence, grooming, threats, abuse of trust, harm to the complainant and lack of remorse.

The sentencer must avoid double counting. A severe sentence is not manifestly excessive where the overall term properly reflects those factors.

The applicant was convicted after trial in the Crown Court at Leeds of four offences of sexual assault contrary to section 3 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003. The offending concerned his step-granddaughter when she was 16 and 17. It included repeated assaults, grooming, a breach of trust and threats.

In October 2021, the judge imposed an extended sentence under section 279 of the Sentencing Act 2020. It comprised seven years’ imprisonment and a three-year extended licence period.

On a renewed application for leave to appeal sentence, the applicant contended that the judge had used too high a guideline category and starting point, imposed an excessive uplift for aggravating features, and double counted them. The issue was whether the seven-year custodial term was arguably manifestly excessive.

Disposition: the renewed application for leave to appeal against sentence was dismissed.

1. The court accepted that counts 1 and 2 were category 2A offences, with a starting point of two years’ custody. However, they involved multiple incidents. The sentence also had to reflect the totality of all four offences, including counts 4 and 6.

2. The judge was entitled to treat the case as warranting a custodial term above four years and to impose seven years. There were multiple significant aggravating features: similar previous sexual convictions, commission of the index offences while on licence, grooming by gifts, cannabis funding and alcohol, emotional blackmail, intimidatory threats, serious personal harm to X, and an absence of remorse.

3. The court held that, when those matters were assessed cumulatively and without double counting, the judge’s description of the case as being at the very top of category 1A was justified. The seven-year custodial term was severe but not arguably manifestly excessive.

4. There was no challenge to the finding of dangerousness or to the three-year extended licence period. The extended sentence therefore remained undisturbed.

• Court of Appeal (Criminal Division): renewed application for leave to appeal against sentence dismissed.

• Crown Court at Leeds: the applicant was convicted in September 2021 of four sexual assaults and sentenced in October 2021 to an extended sentence of 10 years, comprising seven years’ custody and a three-year extended licence period.