Bid to raise jail terms for men who raped girl

Ashley Darbyshire's barrister says his sentence was within the judge's "ambit of discretion".

Nine men jailed for sexually abusing a teenage girl whom a judge said was treated as a "human sexual commodity" should have their sentences increased, the Court of Appeal has heard.

Ashley Darbyshire, Cory Barrett, Jack Poulson, Brandon Harwood, Richard Haslam, Elliot Turner, James Fitzgerald, Ross Corley and Daniel Bainbridge-Flatters were jailed in April for between two and 17 years for dozens of offences against the same victim.

Darbyshire first targeted the girl when she was 13 years old, and she was subsequently abused by him and the other eight defendants in Greater Manchester.

The Solicitor General told the hearing in London on Tuesday the sentences were "unduly lenient".

Lord Justice Edis, Mr Justice Butcher and Judge Angela Morris will give their ruling at 11:30 BST.

Benjamin Holt, appearing for the Solicitor General, said the sentences "did not match the gravity of the case" in which the men "took it in turns to abuse this victim".

He also said a "constant theme" of the abuse was plying the victim with alcohol and drugs.

The men were arrested in Operation Pavarotti, Greater Manchester Police's investigation into child sexual exploitation allegations in the Bolton area.

Darbyshire first contacted the victim on social media in 2016, when she was aged 13 and he was 19 and he went on to abuse her for two years.

He raped her twice and introduced her to the other defendants - four of whom also raped her.

The judge said Darbyshire had a "crazed attitude to sex".

Mr Holt said the offences only came to light when Bainbridge-Flatters, who gave the victim cocaine on her 15th birthday, crashed a stolen car while under the influence of alcohol, in which the victim, a passenger in the vehicle, was injured.

She then revealed she had been repeatedly sexually abused.

Ahead of his trial, Darbyshire admitted multiple offences against her and four other girls aged under 16, including one whom he raped.

Speaking at at Liverpool Crown Court in April, Judge Simon Medland KC said Darbyshire had a "crazed attitude to sex" and treated his victim as a "human sexual commodity".

A statement from the girl said: "I'd rather be dead most days than deal with all this mental torture and memories."

Damian Nolan, for Darbyshire, said his client's sentence was within the judge's "ambit of discretion".

Ian McLoughlin KC, for Barrett, echoed this argument for his client.

Rosalind Emsley-Smith, for Bainbridge-Flatters, said her client's jail term was not "overly generous".

Poulson and Harwood are seeking separate appeals against their sentences