Mr BZ

Mr BZ was convicted in February 2004 of three counts of indecency with a child and four counts of indecent assault.

Mr BZ received a sentence of four years’ imprisonment, a disqualification order preventing any future employment involving contact with children, and a restraining order preventing any unsupervised contact with any child under 16.

The sentences were to be subject to section 85 of the Powers of the Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000, such that the licence extension period was for three years.

The CCRC received an application for review of the sentence in October 2006.

Following review, the CCRC concluded that the sentencing judge did not in fact have the power to impose an extended sentence on Mr BZ.

Section 85 applied only to offences committed after 30 September 1998. The offences for which the sentences pursuant to section 85 were imposed could not be proved to have occurred after that date.

The CCRC decided that there was therefore a real possibility the Court of Appeal would hold Mr BZ’s extended sentence to be unlawful.

The CCRC referred the sentence in May 2007.

The Court of Appeal reduced the sentence in September 2007.