A BRENTWOOD sex attacker who kidnapped a woman and raped her in the grounds of a disused hospital has failed to convince judges that his nine-year jail term was over the top.
Billy James Bennett, from Kelvedon Hatch, forced his victim into a car, threatening to stab her, and drove to the former St John's Hospital site in Chelmsford where he subjected her to a horrific ordeal.
The 22-year-old, of Great Fox Meadow, was jailed at Chelmsford Crown Court last September, after admitting three counts of rape, one of sexual assault and another of kidnap.
He challenged his sentence at London's Criminal Appeal Court last month, with his lawyers arguing it was "too long" for his crimes.
At that hearing, Bennett's victim spoke directly to the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Judge – the nation's top judge – telling him and two other senior judges how her ordeal had left her "no longer an adult, but a dependent child".
As part of a test case appeal on the weight to be given to victim impact statements, Bennett's legal team said the fact his victim was allowed to speak directly to the judge sentencing him created "unfairness" in his case.
However, at the same court on March 26, Lord Judge dismissed the appeal, saying the sentence handed to Bennett was "not excessive" in light of the horrifying experience suffered by his victim.
Sitting with Mr Justice Simon and Mr Justice Irwin, he said victim impact statements provide "real assistance" to judges passing sentence and that, while it will be "very rare" for a victim to give a statement in person, this can be allowed in appropriate cases.
He said that hearing the live evidence from Bennett's victim was also "essential" to the Appeal Court's understanding of the impact the crime had upon her.
The court heard Bennett approached the 26-year-old victim in Chelmsford, in his Ford Focus as she was making her way home.
He threatened to stab her and, although the victim never saw a weapon, she believed he had one and was terrified.
She was sexually assaulted and then driven to the former hospital site, in Wood Street, where further sex attacks took place before she was allowed to go.
Despite her ordeal, the victim remembered the registration number of the car and Bennett handed himself into police the following day, after police visited his home while he wasn't there and said they wanted to speak to him.
His lawyers told the Appeal Court he had taken cocaine before the attack and, when he realised what he had done, he felt "nothing but remorse and self-loathing" at the harm he had caused.
Arguing Bennett's sentence was over the top, his barrister, Pavlos Panayi QC, questioned whether the victim should have been given the chance to elaborate on her statement by speaking to the judge in open court.
He said the sentence eventually passed by the crown court judge was too long in light of his admissions of guilt, his genuine remorse and his lack of any previous convictions.
But, dismissing the appeal, Lord Judge said the sentence – though high – was "not excessive" in all the circumstances.
He added: "This was indeed a quite horrifying experience, and the impact on the victim is severe and she will be emotionally scarred for the rest of her life.
"Allowing for the genuine mitigation, our conclusion is that the sentence was at the high end of the appropriate range, but not excessive."
