Craig Sweeney

Last updated

Craig John Sweeney [1] (born 1981 in South Glamorgan) is a Welsh child sex offender, from Newport, Gwent.

Contents

Public criticism of Sweeney's sentence voiced by Home Secretary John Reid prompted the House of Commons Constitutional Affairs Committee to recommend that the Ministerial Code be amended with guidelines to govern the public comments of ministers about individual judges to reinforce the provisions within the Constitutional Reform Act 2005. [2]

The Committee wrote: "The Sweeney case was the first big test of whether the new relationship between the Lord Chancellor [i.e. Lord Falconer] and the judiciary was working properly, and it is clear that there was a systemic failure." [2] [3]

In 2008, Lord Phillips, the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, announced that in response to "widespread inaccurate media coverage" of Sweeney's sentencing, five judges were being trained to be the first official media spokesmen for the judiciary. [4]

Crime

Craig Sweeney was found guilty of the abduction and sexual assault of a three-year-old girl. He was known to the victim's family, whom he had befriended weeks before the crime. [5] Sweeney was released on licence in late 2005 after serving a term in jail for indecently assaulting a six-year-old in April 2003. While on licence, he was accused of inappropriately touching a child's bottom, but the police and probation workers did not return him to prison, despite his "risk of harm" being raised to "high". [6]

Sweeney kidnapped the girl from the Rumney area of Cardiff on 2 January 2006, two days after his licence had expired. [5] He drove her to his Newport flat where he was living on licence. He was caught the following day when he crashed his car during a high-speed chase initiated after Sweeney jumped a red light. The girl, who was in the crash with him, suffered minor injuries. [5]

Sweeney admitted to four charges of kidnapping, three of sexual assault and one of dangerous driving. His defence counsel said he had "shown remorse when arrested and was distressed at the depravity at what he had done". [5]

Imprisonment

He was sentenced to life in prison with a tariff of 12 years, and would be eligible to be considered for parole after five years and 108 days from the date of sentencing. The judge, John Griffith Williams, QC, stated that the sentence he would have imposed had he passed a determinate sentence would have been one of 12 years, adding that the appropriate sentence after trial would have been 18 years. From that he deducted one-third due to Sweeney's co-operation and his guilty plea at the outset. Had there been a determinate sentence of 12 years (rather than the life sentence the judge imposed) Sweeney would have been released on licence after 6 years. From that the judge deducted the time Sweeney had spent in custody awaiting trial which meant Sweeney could not be considered for parole until he had served five years and 108 days. On 10 July 2006, it was decided the case would not be referred to the Court of Appeal, as the sentence had been calculated in accordance with the legislation enacted by the-then Labour government. The victim's mother said she was "Gut-wrenchingly sick" at the decision. [7]

Public criticism

The sentence created a controversy in Wales largely because it was reported that the sentence was "less than six years". John Reid called the sentence "unduly lenient". [8] Then- Prime Minister Tony Blair backed Reid's criticism. [9] Nick Clegg said it was "rank hypocrisy for Reid to blame judges for sentences which are a direct consequence of recent legislation introduced by this government". Lord Morris of Aberavon QC, attorney general in the late 1990s, said he would have been "extremely annoyed" by Reid's intervention. Ex-High Court judge Sir Oliver Popplewell said: "I think it's unwise for the home secretary to poke his nose into legal affairs." Lord Ramsbotham urged Blair "to shut up" and accused him of enacting policy changes which caused more problems than they solved. The girl's mother has called for tougher sentences. [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rolf Harris</span> Australian entertainer (1930–2023)

Rolf Harris was an Australian musician, television personality, painter, and actor. He often used unusual instruments like the didgeridoo and the Stylophone in his performances, and is credited with the invention of the wobble board. He was convicted in England in 2014 of the sexual assault of four underage girls, which effectively ended his career.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charlie Falconer, Baron Falconer of Thoroton</span> British politician, peer and barrister (born 1951)

Charles Leslie Falconer, Baron Falconer of Thoroton, is a British Labour politician, peer and barrister who served as Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice under Prime Minister Tony Blair from 2003 to 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Max Clifford</span> English publicist and convicted sex offender (1943–2017)

Maxwell Frank Clifford was an English publicist who was particularly associated with promoting "kiss and tell" stories in tabloid newspapers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stuart Hall (presenter)</span> English media personality (born 1929)

James Stuart Hall Jr. is an English former media personality and convicted sex offender. He presented regional news programmes for the BBC in North West England in the 1960s and 1970s, while becoming known nationally for presenting the game show It's a Knockout. Hall's later career mainly involved football reporting on BBC Radio. In June 2013, he was convicted of multiple sexual offences against children, effectively ending his media and broadcasting career.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colin Pitchfork</span> English child-murderer and rapist (born 1960)

Colin Pitchfork is an English child-murderer and child-rapist. He was the first person convicted of rape and murder using DNA profiling after he murdered two girls in neighbouring Leicestershire villages: Lynda Mann in Narborough in November 1983 and Dawn Ashworth in Enderby in July 1986. He was arrested on 19 September 1987 and sentenced to life imprisonment on 22 January 1988 after pleading guilty to both murders. The sentencing judge gave him a 30-year minimum term.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murder of Sarah Payne</span> 2000 abduction and murder of a child in West Sussex, England

Sarah Evelyn Isobel Payne was the victim of a high-profile abduction and murder in West Sussex, England in July 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nazir Ahmed, Baron Ahmed</span> British politician (born 1957)

Nazir Ahmed, Baron Ahmed is a former Labour politician and convicted sex offender. He was appointed a life peer in 1998 by the Labour Government.

Frederick Wilson Talbot is a British former television presenter. He grew up in north west England.

Thomas Lubanga Dyilo is a convicted war criminal from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the first person ever convicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC). He founded and led the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC) and was a key player in the Ituri conflict (1999–2007). Rebels under his command have been accused of massive human rights violations, including ethnic massacres, murder, torture, rape, mutilation, and forcibly conscripting child soldiers.

Mazher Mahmood is a British journalist who was convicted of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice. Before his conviction, he worked mainly for the tabloid press. He spent 20 years working for the News of the World and the Sunday Times, during which time he was responsible for numerous investigations, including a reputed 94 that led to convictions. He won Reporter of the Year in 2011, as well as Scoop of the Year and the Sports Journalists' Association award, for an investigation of cricket match-fixing. Later, from its foundation in 2012, he worked for the Sun on Sunday, successor to the News of the World.

Sir Nigel Hamilton Sweeney KC, styled The Hon. Mr Justice Sweeney, is a former High Court judge. He retired on 18 March 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">World's End Murders</span> Crime in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1977

The World's End Murders is the colloquial name given to the murder of two girls, Christine Eadie, 17, and Helen Scott, 17, in Edinburgh, in October 1977. The case is so named because both victims were last seen alive leaving The World's End pub in Edinburgh's Old Town. The only person to stand trial accused of the murders, Angus Robertson Sinclair, was acquitted in 2007 in controversial circumstances. Following the amendment of the law of double jeopardy, which would have prevented his retrial, Sinclair was retried in October 2014 and convicted of both murders on 14 November 2014. He was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 37 years, the longest sentence by a Scottish court, meaning he would have been 106 years old when he was eligible for a potential release on parole. He died at HM Prison Glenochil aged 73 on 11 March 2019. Coincidentally, he died on the same day the BBC's Crimewatch Roadshow programme profiled the murders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gary Glitter</span> English musician and child sex offender (born 1944)

Paul Francis Gadd, better known by his stage name Gary Glitter, is an English former singer who achieved fame and success during the 1970s and 1980s. His career ended after he was convicted of downloading child pornography in 1999. He was also convicted of child sexual abuse in 2006 and a series of sexual offences in 2015.

The Catholic sexual abuse scandal in Europe has affected several dioceses in European nations. This article summarises reported cases of sexual abuse perpetrated by clergy and representatives of the Catholic Church by country and diocese.

The Office for Judicial Complaints (OJC) was an office within the Ministry of Justice which, between 2004 and 2013, managed the handling of complaints against the judiciary of England and Wales. On 1 October 2013 it was replaced by the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brian Leveson</span> Retired English Judge

Sir Brian Henry Leveson is a retired English judge who served as the President of the Queen's Bench Division and Head of Criminal Justice.

In May 2014, Isidro Medrano Garcia, who had been living under the name Tomas Medrano or Tomas Madrano, was arrested and accused by police of kidnapping a 15-year-old girl in 2004 and repeatedly raping her and continuing to hold her captive until 2014. Garcia was accused of forcing the alleged victim to marry him in 2007. As time moved on, the woman had a child with Garcia on October 27, 2010, or in 2012, and they continued to live openly together as a family in Bell Gardens, California, until the woman contacted her sister through Facebook and met with her mother in April 2014. She filed a domestic violence complaint with Bell Gardens police on May 19, 2014. As a married couple, Garcia and the woman had an apparently active social life in the community, including hosting large parties and the woman spending time and running errands by herself, having her own car, and working outside the home. However, police said the woman had tried to escape twice and been severely beaten. Through his attorney, Garcia claimed that the woman made up the story of abuse because the couple was breaking up.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murder of Claire Tiltman</span> Murder in Kent, United Kingdom in 1993

Claire Tiltman was a 16-year-old girl who was murdered on 18 January 1993 in Greenhithe, Kent, England. Her murder was not solved until 21 years later.

On 26 June 2022, Zara Aleena was sexually assaulted and murdered as she was walking home in Ilford, East London, by Jordan McSweeney. The murder attracted attention after it was discovered McSweeney had committed numerous other offences and should have been recalled to prison.

References

  1. ↑ "Toddler kidnap accused in court". 6 January 2006.
  2. 1 2 Masterman, Roger (2011). "The independence of the judiciary". The Separation of Powers in the Contemporary Constitution: Judicial Competence and Independence in the United Kingdom. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. p. 224. ISBN   978-0-521-49337-6.
  3. ↑ House of Lords Select Committee on the Constitution (26 July 2007), "Chapter 5: Conclusions and Recommendations" (PDF), Relations between the executive, the judiciary and Parliament, London: The Stationery Office Limited, p. 54, retrieved 7 February 2011
  4. ↑ Gibb, Frances (3 April 2008). "Faith in legal system vanishing, says judge". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 7 February 2011.[ dead link ]
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Child sex snatch jailing 'insult'". BBC News. 12 June 2006. Retrieved 31 January 2007.
  6. ↑ "Paedophile report demands changes". BBC News. 19 December 2006. Retrieved 8 March 2007.
  7. ↑ "Gut-Wrenchingly Sick". Sky News. 10 July 2006. Retrieved 31 January 2007.
  8. ↑ "Reid attacks child sex sentence", BBC News, 12 June 2006. Retrieved 28 July 2007.
  9. ↑ "Blair backs Reid sentence attack", BBC News, 13 June 2006. Retrieved on 28 February 2007.
  10. ↑ "Sweeney victim mother speaks out", BBC News, 19 June 2006. Retrieved 28 February 2007.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.