RAPIST FAILS IN APPEAL FOR REDUCTION IN LIFE SENTENCES
CONVICTED serial rapist Steven Kimber has failed in a bid to get his life sentences for a string of sex attacks reduced.Kimber, now 32, received three life sentences after carrying out a two-year reign of terror on women at beauty spots in the Southampton area.
Judges at London's Criminal Appeal Court yesterday rejected his application for leave to appeal against the sentences imposed last summer.
Mr Justice Ian Kennedy, sitting at Bristol Crown Court, had ruled he should serve a minimum of eight and a half years before any parole board hearing to discuss his release.
Last July, agency worker Kimber, admitted three charges of rape and one of false imprisonment.
He appealed the length of the total sentence on the grounds that he had pleaded guilty and had shown remorse for the attacks, which happened after rows with his partner.
But yesterday, Mr Justice Ouseley, with Lord Justice Judge and Mr Justice Cresswell, dismissed the appeal.
The rapes had a very serious effect on the victims, and it was justified for the sentencing judge to conclude he posed a serious danger to the public for an indeterminate time.
The specified period of eight and a half years was deemed appropriate.
Kimber had attacked three women, all of whom were deeply traumatised by their experiences.
