A MAN who raped an unconscious woman in her own home has had his sentence cut by almost three years in a landmark ruling by Jersey’s Appeal Court that will change the way cases of this kind are handled in future.
Fabio Manuel De Jesus Nunes successfully appealed to the court, which reduced his custodial sentence from nine years and six months to six years and eight months.
Nunes was sentenced in the Royal Court in April after raping the “slumped and unconscious” woman in her home in September last year.
The Appeal Court found that the prosecution in such cases was wrong to routinely use English sentencing guidelines to determine sentences in Jersey in cases involving rape or sexual violence.
After hearing arguments that Nunes’ sentence was “manifestly excessive”, the Appeal Court – Clare Montgomery KC, sitting as president with Sir William Bailhache and Sir Adrian Fulford – decided the approach by the Royal Court, ensuring that a sentence would not be lower than one calculated using English guidelines, was wrong.
Explaining the court’s decision, Sir William said: “It is one thing to say that the Royal Court may in an appropriate case, particularly in the absence of any local guidelines or cases from which a pattern of sentences can be ascertained, decide to have regard to what sentences might be passed elsewhere.
“It is quite another routinely to look to what the sentence would be on the application of the guidelines and then reach conclusions or pass sentence on that basis.”
Although factors in the guidelines would often be helpful in deciding the seriousness of offending, sentencing levels were not necessarily appropriate in every case, the court found.
The Appeal Court stressed that this did not prevent the Royal Court from increasing the severity of sentences for rape and sexual assaults if it thought fit.
However, it was wrong simply to apply English starting points and sentencing levels as though they were part of the Jersey sentencing process.
Reviewing Nunes’ case, the court decided that there would be “at least an argument” that a ten-year starting point – compared with the 14-year starting point adopted – was too high. It also noted that Nunes had no previous convictions and admitted the offences as soon as the Magistrate’s Court required him to enter a plea.
“In our judgment the appropriate sentence on [the rape] counts … would be six years, eight months’ imprisonment concurrent, and we substitute that sentence for that imposed by the Royal Court,” Sir William said.
The Royal Court heard in April that Nunes met his victim in the town centre and she invited him back to the home she shared with her partner.
The woman was unconscious by the time Nunes engaged in sexual activity with her.
His actions were described by the Bailiff as “chillingly manipulative”.
