The Court of Criminal Appeal has upheld arguments that a life sentence imposed on a man for raping two young boys was unduly severe and has replaced it with a conditional 12-year prison term.
Philip Sullivan committed the offences after he had served earlier jail terms for other offences also involving the sexual assault of other males.
Today, when substituting a 15 year term for the life sentence imposed by Mr Justice Paul Carney upon Sullivan, with the final two and a half years suspended on conditions, the CCA stressed again that life sentences could be imposed in exceptional circumstances but said, in this case, a determinate sentence was more appropriate.
The life sentence was imposed in January 2008 of last year on Sullivan (44), a native of Kildare town with an address at Botanic Road, Glasnevin, Dublin, after he admitted 11 counts including anal rape, attempted anal rape and sexual assault on two young males in a Dublin city centre location on dates from April 2004 to July 2006.
That court heard, as well as raping and abusing his victims individually, Sullivan had also made them masturbate one another.
The trial judge imposed concurrent life sentences on each rape charge and five years on the sexual assault counts and also directed Sullivan be registered as a sex offender.
In unrelated proceedings for offences also involving the sexual assaults of males, Sullivan was jailed in 1995 for two concurrent terms of four years while he was jailed for five years in October 1997.
Today, granting Sullivan’s appeal against the life sentence imposed in January 2008, the three judge appeal court, with Mr Justice Joseph Finnegan presiding and sitting with Mr Justice Declan Budd and Ms Justice Mary Irvine, said the offences involved “exceptional depravity” due to the frequency with which they occurred over a relatively short period and were in the more serious category of such offences.
The court said it was also taking account of Sullivan’s previous offences, which indicated he will represent a continuing danger to the public.
Mr Justice Finnegan said Mr Justice Carney was correct in regarding Sullivan as representing a continuing danger to the public and in holding, were it not for the previous sentences imposed in 1995 and 1997, a ten year sentence was the appropriate sentence.
However, the trial judge had erred in principle in imposing a life sentence, he said. Sullivan was entitled to credit of his early plea of guilty, his cooperation with the Gardai and his apparently genuine expression of remorse.
When all the mitigating and aggravating factors were taken into account, this was a case where “a determinate sentence” with “a significant period of post release supervision” was appropriate, Mr Justice Finnegan said.
“Where an appropriate determinate sentence can be devised, that is preferable to an indeterminate sentence,” he said.
“That is not to say that a life sentence may not be appropriate given the exceptional circumstances of a case, and this court has upheld such sentences,” he added.
Imposing a 15 year sentence, the CCA said it would suspend the final two and a half years on condition Sullivan attend psychological counselling and comply with the directions of the Probation Service. Sullivan would also have to undergo a period of post release supervision of ten years.
Earlier, Paul Burns SC, for Sullivan, argued that, when a plea of guilty is entered, the maximum life sentence may only be imposed in “exceptional circumstances”. When formulating sentence, the trial judge had only identified one exceptional circumstance, Sullivan’s failure to reform his behaviour in light of previous convictions for similar offences, he said.
The DPP had opposed the appeal.
The Rape Crisis Network Ireland (RCNI) criticised today’s ruling saying the justice system fails to offer society reasonable protection from sex offenders.
“It is not right that sex offenders should re-enter society regardless of their known risk and without having demonstrated any reduction in likelihood to rape again,” said RCNI director Fiona Neary.
“We would ask that our judges be permitted to give life sentences where reliable risk assessment forms the basis of those sex offenders being freed back into society.”