Judge David Farrell agreed that he thought
the girl looked like she was 14
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Two men jailed for raping an 11-year-old girl have had their sentences more than doubled by the Court of Appeal.
Roshane Channer and Ruben Monteiro, both 21, were each originally given three years and four months in February after admitted raping the schoolgirl in a block of flats in Luton, Bedfordshire, last July.
Three judges in London today agreed with Attorney General Dominic Grieve QC that the original terms of detention imposed at Luton Crown Court were 'unduly lenient' - and raised them to seven years.
Channer, of no fixed address, and Monteiro, of Luton, will also be on the sex offenders register for life.
Mr Grieve said in a statement after the ruling: 'This was a horrible case where two men, aged 20, raped an 11-year-old girl, whilst two other youths watched.
'A video recording of part of the incident was taken on a mobile phone, further adding to the anguish of the victim.
'I’m very pleased that the Court of Appeal has today given clear guidance in respect of sentencing sexual offences of this nature.
'The law is clear that children under the age of 13 are incapable of giving consent to sexual activity.
'I hope that today’s sentence sends out a strong message to anyone who commits terrible crimes such as these - that you can expect to spend a substantial time in prison.'
When he originally sentenced Channer and Monteiro, Judge David Farrell QC said their crimes were 'abhorrent'.
Two men jailed for raping an 11-year-old girl had their sentences more than doubled by the Court of Appeal
But he jailed them for just 40 months each because he agreed she was a 'willing participant' and looked 14 - still two years below the legal age of consent.
At the time, a spokesman for the Rape Crisis charity said: 'It is horrendous that any judge can even begin to imagine that an 11-year-old child is capable of consenting to being simultaneously raped by two men while being filmed.'
Guidelines in the Sexual Offences Act 2003 suggest sentencing for rape of a child under 13 should be between 10 and 13 years in prison.
The two men, who were 20 at the time of the attack, maintained that they thought the girl was much older than 11.
They were charged with the rape of a child who could not in law consent to sexual intercourse, but they asserted she was a 'willing participant'.Lord Justice Pitchford, announcing today's decision of the court, said: 'These offenders could not have thought that the complainant was older than 14 years of age.
'It follows that no significant mitigation was available to them on the basis of a mistaken belief in the girl's age.
'They knew that the girl was incapable of consenting in law to the activity in which they required her to engage.'
He added: 'They did not care how old she was. They did not make any inquiry of the girl.
'The circumstances were such that they must have realised that she was a child and, therefore, vulnerable.
The only mitigating feature available to them was the 'complainant's willingness to engage in sexual activity'.
But such 'willingness' was of 'little value in mitigation where the offence amounts to the exploitation of a young child'.
The harm done by the offenders will be 'long-lasting, perhaps permanent'.
The sentencing starting point in the Channer and Monteiro case should not have fallen below 11 years' custody 'and may have been somewhat higher'.
Baljit Ubhey, chief crown prosecutor for Thames and Chiltern Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), said she supported Mr Grieve's decision to refer the case because the sentences were too lenient.She added: 'Roshane Channer and Ruben Monteiro took advantage of a very young girl and, although they pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity, needed to be punished for their crime.
'The original sentences of 40 months imprisonment in no way reflected the severity or seriousness of their crime.'
Longer sentences: Attorney General Dominic Grieve QC said the original jail terms were 'unduly lenient' - and raised them to seven years
Culled from The Daily Mail UK.
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