Chichester paedophile has sentence increased

Tony Monery, 56, of Swanfield Drive, Chichester, raped and assaulted a vulnerable teenager, telling her he loved her and would not harm her, a court heard.

She reported the abuse to police and in May Monery was jailed at Chichester Crown Court for ten sexual offences.

On Thursday, July 20, the case was back in court in London, where three of the country’s senior judges increased the sentence to 15 years.

Monery watched via a video link from prison and lowered his head as Lord Justice Gross ordered that his sentence be extended.

“In our judgment, this was a very bad case – it involved the commission of serious offences,” said the judge.

“He fought the case, thus forcing the victim to relive the abuse. The defence sought to blame the victim.”

The court heard Monery had denied any wrongdoing, claiming that the victim had initiated a sexual relationship.

But following his conviction for two rapes, attempted rape and seven indecent assaults in May, she said her ordeal had made her life ‘extremely hard’.

She was ‘angry and upset’ at the allegations made against her in court by Monery and his defence lawyers.

The case reached the Court of Appeal after a reference by attorney general Jeremy Wright QC on the basis that the original ten-year sentence was too lenient.

Passing judgment, Lord Justice Gross, sitting with Mrs Justice May and Sir Andrew Smith, said: “It was necessary to ensure that the total sentence reflected the gravity of the offending behaviour.

“We are driven to the conclusion that the judge’s sentence is not only lenient, but unduly lenient.

“It does not, by a significant margin, reflect the true gravity of the offending.”

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