2008: ATTEMPTED RAPE CASE SENTENCE IS REDUCED
A soldier who attempted to assault a teenage girl outside a nightclub has secured a reduced sentence following an appeal at the Court of Appeal in London.Judges determined that Darren Leatham’s original sentence was “manifestly excessive” and amended it, lowering the sentence by one year.
Earlier in the year, the 23-year-old, a member of the Irish Guards, was convicted at Liverpool Crown Court of attempted rape.
He had originally received a five-year prison term in February; however, on Friday, Lord Justice Toulson, along with Mr Justice Andrew Smith and Judge John Rogers QC, reduced it to four years.
The court noted that Leatham’s sentence was overly long compared to similar cases.
According to court proceedings, Leatham, residing on Lowton Road, Golborne, met his victim, an 18-year-old woman, at Barbarella’s nightclub in Leigh in 2005.
Their encounter outside the venue in the early hours led to him dragging her into an alley nearby and attempting to carry out the assault.
It was more than a year before he was apprehended, after police stopped him at Waterloo railway station in London on an unrelated issue.
A DNA analysis collected from the scene linked semen from the attacker to Leatham, confirming his involvement.
