The Case

An appeal against a sentence of four-and-a-half years' imprisonment would be allowed in the case of a defendant who had abducted his daughter from his ex-wife. Settled authorities demonstrated that the sentence of imprisonment in the instant case did not give the defendant sufficient credit for his guilty plea. Bearing in mind the mitigating factors, in particular the effect of the sentence on the defendant's reputation, which was already devastated as a result of the offence, and his ruined chance of taking up normal relations with his daughters, the sentence, which translated to a sentence of six-and-a-half years' imprisonment after a trial, was too high. Accordingly, giving maximum credit for his early guilty plea, a sentence of three-and-a-half years' imprisonment would be imposed.