LEEDS: A leading judge, Mr Justice Walker, has ruled that the paedophile who abused two Asian girls was rightly given a longer sentence by Judge Cahill QC, than if his victims were white, because Asian sex crime victims suffer more.
Jamal Muhammed Raheem Ul Nasir, 32, carried out sex attacks on two young girls and was jailed for seven years at Leeds Crown Court in December last year. He was convicted of two counts of sexual assault on a child under 13 and four counts of sexual activity with a child.
Judge Sally Cahill QC, specifically said that the fact the victims were Asian had been factored in as an "aggravating feature" when passing sentence.
She stated that the victims and their families had suffered particular "shame" in their communities because of what had happened to them. She added that there were cultural concerns that the girls' future of being considered as good prospects for arranged marriage now damaged.
Lawyers for Ul Nasir, 32, of Liversedge, West Yorkshire, argued at London's Criminal Appeal Court that his sentence had been unfairly inflated.
But their complaints were rejected by Mr Justice Walker, who said: "The victims' fathers were concerned about the future marriage prospects for their daughters.
"Judge Cahill was having particular regard to the harm cause to the victims by this offending. That harm was aggravated by the impact on the victims and their families within this particular community".
The argument that Ul Nasir was given a longer sentence due to his own "ethnic and religious origin" was based on "a misconception", he added. "The judge who tried the case was in the best position to determine the correct sentence."
Mr Justice Walker, sitting with Lord Justice Laws and Mr Justice Mitting, concluded: "There is no basis for saying that Judge Cahill adopted an incorrect starting point. This application for leave to appeal against sentence must be refused."
