Romford paedophile Neil Wilson, whose victim was branded ‘predatory’, having his sentence reviewed by judges
A paedophile who walked free from court after his 13-year-old victim was branded “predatory” is having his sentence reviewed today.
Court of Appeal judges in London have been asked to decide whether the suspended jail term handed to Neil Wilson, 41, was unduly lenient and should be increased.
A sentence of 12 months, suspended for two years, was imposed after he admitted engaging in sexual activity with the girl in Romford, as well as offences of making indecent images of a child and possession of an extreme pornographic image.
The sentence imposed on Wilson, formerly of Romford and now living in York, has been referred to the Court of Appeal by Attorney General Dominic Grieve.
A decision on whether it should be changed will be made by the new Lord Chief Justice Lord Thomas, sitting with Mr Justice Henriques and Mr Justice Blake.
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A row broke out shortly after the case was heard at Southwark Crown Court in August when it emerged that prosecuting barrister Robert Colover had labelled the young girl “predatory” and “sexually experienced”.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) later announced that Mr Colover had agreed to resign from the CPS Rape Panel of advocates, admitting his description of the girl was inappropriate.
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He will no longer undertake prosecutions involving serious sexual offences or child sexual abuse, but the CPS said Mr Colover “will remain on our general advocate panel and will still be instructed in other criminal cases”.
A number of complaints about remarks made during sentencing by Judge Nigel Peters, who said he was taking into account how the girl looked and behaved, are being “considered” by the Judicial Conduct and Investigations Office (formerly the Office for Judicial Complaints.
