A paedophile who was allowed to walk free after his 13-year-old victim was branded “predatory” is to have his sentence reviewed by the Court of Appeal.
Neil Wilson, 41, was handed a 12-month jail sentence suspended for two years after he admitted engaging in sexual activity with the child, as well as offences of making indecent images of a child and offences of possession of an extreme pornographic image.
A row broke out shortly after the case was heard when it emerged that prosecuting barrister Robert Colover had labelled the young girl “predatory” and “sexually experienced”.
The Attorney General, Dominic Grieve QC, has decided to refer Wilson’s sentence to the Court of Appeal, where three judges will decide whether or not it is unduly lenient and whether they should increase it.
A statement from the Attorney General’s Office said: “Having carefullyreviewed this case, the Attorney General, Dominic Grieve QC MP, has decided torefer the sentence of Neil Wilson to the Court of Appeal for review.
“The case will in due course be heard by three Court of Appeal judges who will decide whether or not the sentence is unduly lenient and whether they should increase it.”
In addition to Mr Colover’s comments, Judge Nigel Peters QC said he accounted for the way the Wilson’s victim looked and behaved when he sentenced her attacker.
Mr Colover has been suspended from prosecuting sexual offence cases pending a review by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), while Judge Peters’ comments are to be investigated by the Office for Judicial Complaints.
As well as receiving a number of complaints, the CPS was confronted by a petition, which now has more than 50,000 signatures, demanding Director of Public Prosecutions Keir Starmer investigate the language used by Mr Colover.