In a significant court case, nine men who received jail sentences for their horrific sexual abuse of a teenage girl may soon be facing longer prison terms. The Court of Appeal has been informed that their current sentences are far too lenient for the crimes they committed against this vulnerable victim.
The group, which includes Ashley Darbyshire, Cory Barrett, Jack Poulson, Brandon Harwood, Richard Haslam, Elliot Turner, James Fitzgerald, Ross Corley, and Daniel Bainbridge-Flatters, was sentenced in April to prison terms ranging from two to 17 years for repeated offenses against the same girl.
Darbyshire was the first to exploit the girl at just 13 years old. Over a period of two years, she suffered at the hands of these men, primarily around the Blackrod and Adlington areas of Bolton in Greater Manchester.
The Solicitor General moved to challenge the length of the jail terms, labeling them as ‘unduly lenient’ during a hearing in London. According to legal representatives, the punishment needs to reflect the severity of the crimes much better.
During the Tuesday proceedings, Benjamin Holt, representing the Solicitor General, expressed that the justice handed out ‘did not align with the gravity of the offenses’ because the men ‘systematically took turns abusing the girl.’
He elaborated that multiple offenders should have had more reflecting penalties due to their consistent abuse, particularly involving incidents where they supplied her with alcohol and drugs.
The investigation leading to these arrests, called Operation Pavarotti, focused on allegations of child sexual exploitation, revealing pervasive abuse in the region.
Darbyshire first reached out to the victim via social media back in 2016 when she was just starting her teenage years. Over the next two years, he raped her twice and introduced her to other perpetrators, four of whom also abused her.
Most of the attacks occurred in a residence in Blackrod, described grimly by the sentencing judge as a ‘lawless den of iniquity.’
The cycle of abuse was interrupted when Bainbridge-Flatters – involved in supplying the victim with cocaine on her 15th birthday – stole a car that belonged to the father of another convicted man. He crashed the vehicle while intoxicated, with the girl inside, resulting in injuries that led her to finally disclose the recurring sexual abuse.
Darbyshire admitted to a series of charges against several minors, including the victim, before his trial. In April, during his sentencing at Liverpool Crown Court, Judge Simon Medland KC condemned Darbyshire’s approach, noting his ‘crazed attitude towards sex’ and referenced his treatment of the girl as a ‘human sexual commodity.’
The victim’s personal statement illustrated the severe mental toll the abuse took on her life, stating: ‘Some days, I’d rather be dead than dealing with this mental torture…
‘Instead of living my youth, I’ve been trapped in a mental prison, forever trying to heal from the monsters I suffered at the hands of.’
During the hearing, a legal representative for Darbyshire mentioned a brain injury his client suffered prior to trial, suggesting that the given sentence fit within Judge Medland’s discretion.
Other lawyers commonly defended their clients by arguing their sentences were just and properly managed by the judge.
The offenders participated in the hearing through video links from their respective jails, illustrating the serious nature of the case and the collective degree of accountability they each bear for their actions. Darbyshire himself, aged 28, faces 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to 19 different crimes, including serious sexual offenses against minors.
Sentences for others in the group ranged from 2 to 17 years, with some individuals receiving significant jail time that reflected their offenses proportionately.
