Law lords reserve sex case judgement

4:12pm Thursday 4th October 2007

A PAEDOPHILE who raped a ten-year-old should have been jailed for at least four times longer than the two-year sentence he received, the Attorney General has said.

Baroness Scotland appeared before the Court of Appeal to argue the sentence for Keith Fenn was far too lenient and should be increased.

At Oxford Crown Court, Judge Julian Hall gave Fenn, of Starwort Place, Oxford, the sentence partly because of the girl's perceived maturity.

Fenn said he thought the girl, referred to as L in court, was 16.

Baroness Scotland said: "The sentence of two years imprisonment is so far outside the range of eight to 14 years that it cannot be right as it stands.

"At the point when (the girl) was introduced to Fenn, she was a virgin, she suffered real physical pain.

"Fenn told her it would be painful and it was."

She said custodial sentences like that given to Fenn did not sufficiently punish paedophiles or sex offenders for the harm they caused, protect young girls, or deter would-be offenders from striking.

"There is very clear evidence that she suffered long-standing damage", Baroness Scotland added.

During Fenn's trial at Oxford Crown Court in July this year, Judge Hall said Fenn's ten-year-old victim was a "very disturbed and needy" child. He also called her "sexually precocious" and said she liked to dress provocatively.

Fenn's defence counsel Peter De Feu said Fenn genuinely believed the girl was 16 and said she had consented.

Mr De Feu said: "The extraordinary aspect of this case and the headline everyone sees is that she was a ten-year-old girl.

"The point is Mr Fenn didn't initiate the approach and she told a tale of adult woe about having been thrown out by her boyfriend."

The three law lords reserved judgement and adjourned the hearing.