A YOUTH jailed for having sex with an underage girl while he was still a teenager himself has had his sentence almost halved on appeal by top judges.
James Ashley Holness, now aged 21, was 17 when he had unprotected sex with the 14-year-old, whom he had met at a 16th birthday party.
Holness, of Bradshaw Drive, Honley was jailed for a year at Leeds Crown Court on March 6 having pleaded guilty to sexual activity with a child. Yesterday that sentence was slashed to seven months by Judge William Davis QC, who was sitting with Lady Justice Rafferty and Mr Justice Keith at London’s Criminal Appeal Court.
Observing that the age gap between Holness and his victim was “significant”, and that the sex had had serious consequences for her, the judge rejected arguments that Holness did not deserve to be behind bars. He refused to suspend the sentence, but reduced it after finding that Holness had strong personal mitigation and was “immature, even by the standards of the average late teenager” at the time.
