Man who raped vulnerable woman gets longer jail term
ARAPIST who attacked a vulnerable woman after she confided in him about being sexually abused as a child has had his sentence increased.
Michael Smith, 26, from Bitton in South Gloucestershire, raped the victim following a party in August 2017.
Earlier in the evening, she had told him she was very anxious about having sexual intercourse because of her experiences as a child, but he removed her clothing while she was asleep and attacked her.
When the victim threatened to report him, Smith made a false allegation to the police that she was harassing him, despite apologising for the incident in previous text messages to her.
Smith, who was employed by Bristol Ambulance Service, also admitted to colleagues he had raped the hidden behind some bike racks on the Millennium Square side of the bridge and is almost invisible to passers-by.
“The fact that this is the only memorial in Bristol to the victims of the transatlantic slave trade (barring a small plaque on the side of M Shed) is frankly insulting.” woman and they also reported the incident to the police.
During the investigation, police found four extreme pornographic images on his phone – one of which Smith had disseminated to his friends via WhatsApp.
Smith eventually pleaded guilty to one count of rape and four counts of possession of extreme pornography at Bristol Crown Court, and was jailed for three years and nine months last October.
The sentencing judge, Julian Lambert, took into consideration Smith’s age, his good character and his pleas of guilty, as well as the current problems in the prison system caused by the pandemic.
But Attorney General Suella Braverman argued at the High Court that he had been treated too leniently considering the impact of the offence on the victim.
During the appeal, the court heard that following the rape the victim felt worthless and dirty, and even three years on from the attack could not contemplate having a relationship with a man.
Ms Braverman said the starting point should have been eight years, before both mitigation and the mandatory reduction in sentence due to his guilty pleas were taken into account.
She also argued his four-month sentence for the extreme images should not run concurrently to Smith’s sentence for rape, as the offences were unrelated to the attack.
Increasing Smith’s sentence for rape to five years and three months, Lady Justice Macur said: “This sentence should not have been reduced below the bottom of the range before the discount was applied.”
She added that the extreme images were a “separate category of offending” that call for consecutive sentencing, but reduced the sentence to three months to run concurrently on each count.
It brings Smith’s total sentence to one of five years and six months.
Smith appeared at the hearing via video link, but could be seen with his head in his hands at the end of the ruling.
The Attorney General said after the hearing: “Smith’s repulsive actions, and the extent to which he lied to cover up his guilt, were truly shocking and caused severe harm to the victim.
“I am pleased I was able to personally present this case and I welcome his sentence being increased.”