Pre-Sentencing reports

[clive308]

A person was found guilty of historic sexual offences, some dating back to 1963/4 no direct evidence was produced. Only the statements of the victim. Other persons who were present at the location at the time of the said offences could not be called to confirm or refute the claims. Each having passed away in the proceeding years. The defense barrister seemed to have taken it as read that their client was in fact guilty and didn't put up much of a fight. I sat in through all the evidence and points I would have questioned, were left. Such as: Person A, picked up person B in a vehicle and they returned to an address on a regular basis. In fact person A only ever had a provisional licence. Person A would never have taken this action. Person A is one of the deceased. I mention earlier

At the time of sentencing, the judge sentenced the "offender" to 18 years. This was two years ago, I have been made aware that the judge did not seek pre-sentencing reports of any kind and no such reports have been actioned in the following years.

My question is: As part of the legal process, should the said reports have been sought, before any sentencing was made

[2222]

Have you seen this site?
https://www.defence-barrister.co.uk/...tencing-works/

"If a pre-sentence report has not already been prepared and the judge is considering imposing a custodial or a community sentence, there will be an adjournment of the case to allow such a report to be prepared unless the judge considers it unnecessary. " (My emphasis)

"If the Magistrates/District Judge (in the Magistrates’ Court) or the Judge (in the Crown Court) are considering imposing a custodial sentence or a community order, a pre-sentence report must be obtained unless the Judge/Magistrates consider it unnecessary to do so.

Pre-sentence reports are written by probation officers from the National Probation Service. The defendant will often meet with a probation officer before sentence and they will discuss the offence and the defendant’s attitude towards it. Sometimes 'stand down' or 'on the day' pre-sentence reports are ordered. This means the court orders a report to be prepared by the probation service on the same day as the defendant pleads guilty, allowing the sentence to take place on that day also; this procedure is often used in less complex cases where there has not been sufficient time or opportunity to prepare a report in advance. "THE PROBATION OFFICER WILL CONSIDER HOW MUCH OF A RISK TO THE PUBLIC THE DEFENDANT IS AND TO WHAT EXTENT HE PRESENTS A RISK OF REOFFENDING"


The probation officer will consider how much of a risk to the public the defendant is and to what extent he presents a risk of reoffending. The probation officer will consider what types of community sentence (if any) the defendant is suitable for. For example, a defendant with a drug addiction might be suitable for a community order with a drug rehabilitation requirement, or a defendant with a mental health problem may be suitable for a community order with a mental health treatment requirement (which could require treatment for a period of up to 3 years). The probation officer will ensure that the defendant is capable of undertaking the particular community order suggested and that any programmes or requirements proposed as part of a community order are available in the locality.

The pre-sentence report is made available to the judge and to the prosecution and defence lawyers. The defendant is, of course, entitled to see it and it will usually be discussed between the defendant and his/her legal representative prior to sentencing taking place. The judge is not bound to follow any recommended sentence in the pre-sentence report, but if the judge reaches the view that a community order is the correct sentence in a particular case, then often the judge will follow the recommendations for any particular additional requirements (such as suggested programmes and treatment requirements)."


If the sentencing was done 2 years ago, even if the judge was wrong to consider it unnecessary to obtain a report, it may be far too late to appeal that point.

I take it you have checked the sentencing guidelines, and the sentence appears to be within them?