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Criminal law – Rape. The Court of Appeal, Criminal Division considered appeals by two defendants who had been convicted of various sexual offences arising out of the grooming of young girls for sexual purposes. In dismissing the first defendant's appeal against his conviction, the court considered issues of consent in respect of the rape counts and the requirement for 'travel' in respect of the offence of trafficking within the United Kingdom for sexual exploitation under s 58(1) of the Sexual Offences Act 2003. The second defendant's sentence was reduced by four years to a total of eight years' detention, in circumstances where the combination of concurrent and consecutive sentences had resulted in sentence which was manifestly excessive.
Criminal law – Rape. The Court of Appeal, Criminal Division considered appeals by two defendants who had been convicted of various sexual offences arising out of the grooming of young girls for sexual purposes. In dismissing the first defendant's appeal against his conviction, the court considered issues of consent in respect of the rape counts and the requirement for 'travel' in respect of the offence of trafficking within the United Kingdom for sexual exploitation under s 58(1) of the Sexual Offences Act 2003. The second defendant's sentence was reduced by four years to a total of eight years' detention, in circumstances where the combination of concurrent and consecutive sentences had resulted in sentence which was manifestly excessive.
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