Establishment cannot ignore sentencing farce
Fiona Doyle is the third victim in less than six months to see her abuser — in this case her own father, Patrick O’Brien — avoid jail after being handed down a suspended sentence.
In October, the Circuit Criminal Court suspended a four-year sentence imposed on Graham Griffith for a violent sexual assault on a teenager who he pinned to the ground during the assault.
Judge Martin Nolan suspended the sentence on condition that Griffith paid the victim compensation of €15,000, and he said if she did not accept it the court would decide where the compensation would go.
In July, all but six months of the six-year sentence imposed on Anthony Lyons last July for a violent sexual assault were suspended on condition he paid his victim €75,000 in compensation.
And earlier this week, Patrick O’Brien, aged 72, of Old Court Avenue, Bray, Co Wicklow, was jailed for 12 years, but nine were suspended. He was released on bail, pending appeal.
This meant O’Brien walked free despite admitting to raping his daughter regularly over a 10-year period, starting when she was seven years old.
Meanwhile, the public looks on — not only “in revulsion” as the Taoiseach told the Dáil — but with a strong sense of dissatisfaction with a sentencing system that it sees as being too soft, particularly on vicious rapists.
The sentencing handed down by Mr Justice Paul Carney on Monday was said by legal experts to follow the example set down by previous appeals by those who commit sex crimes.
Taoiseach Enda Kenny has admitted that there was “inadequacies” in the court system. And he has agreed to meet Ms Doyle, to get “her perspective on how a victim would see the court system working”.
That Mr Kenny is willing to listen to the views of a victim has to be seen as positive step and an indication that this is an issue he does not want to ignore.
The Department of Justice is to advertise this week for submissions as part of its consultation on penal reform, which started in September and is due to be completed in the summer.
This is a long time to wait for victims concerned about bringing cases to court. But Mr Kenny said yesterday it might be possible to bring forward the report.
“That might indicate what people’s views are,” he said. “It’s of interest to everyone that the system works effectively.”
Justice Minister Alan Shatter has not shown any shyness in the past in taking on the legal profession, and there is no reason to doubt his willingness to respond to the latest calls for reform of sentencing laws.
One way this might be done is through the establishment of a Sentencing Council. Chairman of the Oireachtas Justice Committee, Fine Gael’s David Stanton said this has worked well in Britain and could be useful here.
Before its establishment in England and Wales in 2010, the Sentencing Council was rubbished by the judiciary on the grounds that it would remove judges’ discretion to deal with cases on their individual merits.
It is made up of eight judges from all levels of the courts and six non-judges with specialist knowledge.
Judges retain their discretion in sentencing, but guidelines outline all the factors that have to be taken into account, both aggravating and mitigating.
They are outlined on a single-page form, which the judges fill in at the time of the hearing and which is forwarded to the Sentencing Council, which analyses the results and uses them to promote consistency.
Such an approach informs the public about the factors that have to be taken into account in sentencing.
Fianna Fáil plans to bring a private members bill before the Dáil to allow for the establishment of such a body, which it says will promote transparency and consistency in sentencing.
It is unlikely the Government will accept the legislation tabled by the opposition.
But, after his proposed meeting with Ms Doyle and hearing the upset caused to her by the inadequacies of sentencing laws, its unlikely Mr Kenny will ignore concerns for any longer.
