Mar 30 - Knife Man Has Sentence Reduced On Appeal
A local man who was sent to prison for over three years for wielding a kitchen knife in a public place had his sentence reduced to one year and six months at the Court of Appeal this morning.
Karim Rudge was sentenced to three years and one month in prison after pleading guilty to one count of possession of a bladed article at the start of a trial in October last year.
He had been remanded in custody since March last year after he was also charged with one count of attempted rape and one count of trespass with intent to commit a sexual offence. He was later acquitted of both these charges by a jury at a Supreme Court trial.
This morning, Rudge’s lawyer Elliott Phillips put forward the appeal after his client deemed the sentence to be excessive. He argued that the legal grounds on which Rudge was sentenced were too strict.
Court of Appeal judge Sir John Goldring highlighted that the Chief Justice may have sentenced Rudge on the basis of “acquitted conduct” - that is, imposed a sentence for charges for which the jury had already found him not guilty.
The Court of Appeal judges thought a reduced sentence of one year and six months was more appropriate.
The President of the Court of Appeal Sir Maurice Kay and Sir Martin Moore-Bick also heard the appeal, while Robert Fischel QC appeared for the Crown.
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