LIFE SENTENCE FOR ADAM BENNETT IN UXBRIDGE AFTER INTERNET SEX OFFENSES

In January 2007, Adam Bennett, a 23-year-old from Frays Lees, Uxbridge, experienced a significant legal escalation after initially receiving a two-year prison sentence for abusing young girls he met online. The top judges augmented his sentence to a potentially life-long term behind bars, citing the original punishment as 'unduly lenient.'

Bennett had engaged in sexual activity with a 12-year-old girl from the York area and a 14-year-old girl from Tewkesbury, both of whom he contacted through internet chatrooms and subsequently arranged to meet. Authorities discovered he was in possession of child pornography featuring children as young as three on his computer.

He was sentenced at York Crown Court on September 4 of the previous year after pleading guilty to multiple charges, including two counts of raping a girl under 16, grooming, engaging in sexual activity with a child, and making indecent images of children. He was also disqualified from working with children.

The Attorney General, Lord Goldsmith QC, appealed the initial sentence, condemning it as too lenient. A panel consisting of Lord Justice Gage, Mr. Justice Burton, and Judge Michael Broderick subsequently reviewed the case. They declared that a two-year sentence was indeed 'unduly lenient' and replaced it with a sentence of Indefinite Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP). This sentence is akin to a life term, meaning Bennett will remain incarcerated until he can convince the Parole Board that he no longer poses a serious threat to the public.

Court documents revealed that Bennett met the 12-year-old girl through a chatroom, where she had posted a picture of herself and claimed to be 17. He visited her home when her mother was away and had sex with her on two occasions. He was aware that the other girl was 14 but continued meeting her multiple times before persuading her to spend a night with him, during which they had sex in a hotel near Tewkesbury.

The court also found that Bennett had downloaded child pornography at age 17, which he kept on his computer for five years.

Addressing the seriousness of the offences, Lord Justice Gage noted, 'These were serious offences involving young girls. The offender had a sexual interest in children which was ongoing. These offences determine that further offences may cause serious psychological harm to members of the public.'

He criticized the initial judge for mistakenly assessing Bennett as not dangerous and emphasized that the proper sentence should have been an Imprisonment for Public Protection. The court concluded that Bennett should serve approximately two and a half years — the equivalent of a five-year sentence — before being eligible for parole.