Sex crimes sentencing - Three-strike law must be considered

Amid all the recent calls for a constitutional referendum on children’s rights and talk of the need for measures to protect children from paedophile abuse, the overturning yesterday of the life sentence imposed on a 45-year-old paedophile for the rape of two young boys is being met with a degree of stunned incredulity.

Philip Sullivan —a convicted paedophile who had pleaded guilty to 11 counts of rape and sexual assault of two young boys from April 2004 to April 2006 — had previously served two other prison terms for similar offences. Believing that he was likely to re-offend, if ever released from jail, Mr Justice Paul Carney sentenced him to life in prison last year.

Although the Court of Criminal Appeal recognised that, because of the repeated nature of his offences, Sullivan “represented a continuing danger to the public,” it nevertheless ruled that the judge had erred in principal in imposing a life sentence.

The principle has been long established that a man who pleads guilty to a crime is entitled to some credit for saving the state the trouble in having to prove the case. In this specific case the court noted Sullivan cooperated with the gardaí and expressed genuine remorse, so it concluded that he was entitled to some credit, whereas he had received the maximum sentence.

The Court of Criminal Appeals, therefore, reduced the sentence to 15 years in jail with the last two years suspended, but Sullivan must undergo counseling and supervision for 10 years after his release.

This case came just two days after Mr Justice Carney seemed to express regret that he was unable to sentence the serial rapist, David Hegarty, to life in prison. Hegarty had been convicted of rape for a third time, but Mr Justice Carney felt that he was precluded by the ruling of the Court of Criminal Appeal in overturning his sentence of another serial rapist.

In January 2007, Mr Justice Carney sentenced Gerard Kelly to life in prison for the rape of a young woman just months after he had been released, having served 10 years for an earlier rape. The Court of Criminal Appeal ruled that the rape was not of such an exceptional nature to merit the imposition of a life sentence. It reduced his sentence to 13 years in prison.

The Rape Crisis Network Ireland (RCNI) has called for a meaningful risk assessment to be an integral part in the sentencing of sex offenders. Society must be protected from sex offenders who pose a real risk of re-offending after release.

In the case of vile crimes like rape, we should give serious consideration a three-strikes law that would permit a life sentence on anyone convicted of such a crime for the third time. Society must be protected against such predators.