Posted on 06/13/2003 5:06:10 PM PDT by UnklGene
Man who had sex with girls of 13 faces jail review- By John Steele, Crime Correspondent (Filed: 14/06/2003)
A child abuser who "groomed" two schoolgirls for sex through Internet chatrooms could have his three-year jail term increased if the Government's senior law officer decides to challenge it as "unduly lenient".
Michael Wheeler Lord Goldsmith, the Attorney General, has asked the Crown Prosecution Service to provide him with case papers on Michael Wheeler.
The electronics engineer was jailed last week after pleading guilty to having sex with two 13-year-old girls and, if his sentence remains at three years, he could be freed within a year because he has already served seven months on remand.
Some of the 11 charges admitted by 36-year-old Wheeler involved indecent assault, a crime which often attracts heavier sentences than three years and an offence for which the law allows a challenge by the Crown to sentences it believes are unduly lenient.
Wheeler was also convicted of unlawful sexual intercourse. However, the maximum sentence for such an offence with a child aged between 13 and 16 is two years, and sentences cannot be challenged. Detectives believe Wheeler, from Cambridge, exploited the law by waiting until the girls turned 13 before having sex with them, to avoid a potential life sentence for sex with someone under 12.
Challenges to lenient sentences are always mounted by the Attorney General. A spokesman said Lord Goldsmith was "concerned that on first impressions the sentence seems unduly lenient".
"He wants to examine the full facts before deciding whether to refer the sentence to the Court of Appeal."
Wheeler made contact with his first victim via an Internet chatroom when she was 11. He had pretended to be 19. The girl, who claimed to be 16, was then "groomed" during on-line chats.
In a statement read to Norwich Crown Court, one girl said: "My innocence has gone. All my friends at school have fallen out with me and I do not relate to boys any more." The mother of the second victim said she was "disgusted" by the sentence.
The Sexual Offences Bill, which is expected to become law this year, will raise the maximum sentence for Wheeler's offence to 14 years. It will also introduce a new offence of "grooming" a child for sex to carry a maximum term of seven years.
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