‘Rough-sex’ killers to spend longer in jail, vows minister
PERVERTS who kill during ‘rough sex’ will face longer behind bars under measures unveiled today.
Justice Secretary Alex Chalk – writing exclusively in today’s Mail – condemns ‘ warped’ domestic abusers who claim the lives of their partners by sexual violence.
Tough laws to be introduced by Mr Chalk will allow judges to treat the use of fatal violence during sado-masochistic sex as an ‘aggravating factor’ when calculating a killer’s punishment. It is likely to add years to the sentences handed down to rough-sex deviants.
The measures will apply when warped bedroom activities such as choking, beatings, asphyxiation and even ‘mock rapes’ lead to tragic consequences.
Mr Chalk writes today: ‘Any man who thinks they can take a woman’s life into their own hands – metaphorically and physically – should expect to pay a heavy price for his warped behaviour when his intimate partner dies.’
Claiming that someone had consented to lose their life in such a manner is ‘the very worst kind of cowardly victim blaming imaginable’, he adds. Fiona Mackenzie, founder of the We Can’t Consent to This campaign, said: ‘This is an important step in ensuring that men who kill women in sexuallymotivated violence do not get away with a lighter sentence.
‘This change should... send a clear message that this violence against women is unacceptable in our society.’
The moves follow concerns that misogynistic online pornography is driving a rise in depraved antics.
The new aggravating factor will be brought in through legislation soon, a Ministry of Justice spokesman said.
Under current Sentencing Council guidelines, those convicted of killing during ‘rough sex’ can face between one and 16 years in prison. Today’s measures could see sentences between four and six years longer, it is thought.
In 2016, Natalie Connolly, 26, was killed by millionaire boyfriend John Broadhurst, 39, in Kinver, Staffordshire, after suffering more than 40 injuries. Broadhurst denied murder and said he only hurt Ms Connolly ‘ within the boundaries of her masochistic desires’. He later admitted gross negligence manslaughter and was jailed for 44 months. He served only 22.
‘This should send a clear message’