Maxwell Clifford has been sentenced to a total of 8 years imprisonment having been found guilty of eight counts of indecent assault which were committed between 30 and 37 years ago. The sentencing remarks of His Honour Judge Leonard QC are available via the Judiciary website - HERE (pdf 9 pages).
Since the offences took place when penalties were lowerr than today, I had expected realatively low outcomes. The judge seems to have found a way to bring things up to date.
ReplyDeleteR v Maxwell Clifford.
ReplyDeleteThese "historic" cases present considerably difficulty for sentencers.
I read HHJ Leonard QC's remarks as a straightforward application of the law. So, for me, it is not "updating." Consecutive sentences were handed down but the judge also applied the totality principle. In other words, a defendant convicted of 8 counts back in the 1960s / 70s could have received a similar overall sentence. Of course, an appeal is always a possibility. Time will tell on that one.