R v Anthony Pike

When sentencing attempted rape, the victim’s incapacitation through drink may be treated as an aggravating factor. The sentence must nevertheless reflect that the offence was attempted rather than completed. There is no fixed reduction; its extent depends on the facts. A short-lived attempt, brought to an end when the victim walks away, may justify an appreciable reduction below the starting point for the completed offence.

The appellant was convicted by a jury at the Crown Court at Bournemouth of one count of attempted rape and sentenced on 19 December 2023 to five years’ imprisonment. The sentencing judge placed the offence in category 3B under the relevant sentencing guidelines, with a five-year starting point and a range of four to seven years.

The appellant challenged the treatment of the victim’s incapacity through drink as aggravating, the weight given to the limited physical contact and short duration of the attempt, and the weight given to his role as primary carer for his son. The central issue was whether the sentence properly reflected the distinction between an attempted and a completed offence.

1. Appeal allowed. The sentence of five years’ imprisonment was quashed and a sentence of four years’ imprisonment was substituted.
2. The court held that the sentencing judge was entitled to treat the victim’s incapacitation through drink as an aggravating factor. The CCTV evidence showed touching and interference with the victim’s underwear before the attempted rape, which the court considered explicable only on the basis that she was incapacitated through drink.
3. That was the only aggravating factor. It was outweighed by the mitigating circumstances, including the appellant’s lack of relevant or recent convictions, his good character and his role as primary carer for his son.
4. Sentences for attempted offences are generally lower than sentences for completed offences, although the extent of the reduction depends on the circumstances of the individual case. The judge had acknowledged that the appellant was being sentenced for an attempt, but the sentence imposed did not give that distinction sufficient weight.
5. In this case the attempt was short-lived and ended when the victim got up and walked away. Taking all the circumstances into account, the sentence should have been appreciably below the five-year starting point for the completed offence. A four-year sentence was appropriate.

• Court of Appeal (Criminal Division): In [2024] EWCA Crim 1529, the court allowed the sentence appeal, quashed the five-year sentence and substituted four years’ imprisonment.
• Crown Court at Bournemouth: Following the appellant’s conviction by jury on 8 September 2023, the court sentenced him on 19 December 2023 to five years’ imprisonment for attempted rape.