R v C (J) [2025] EWCA Crim 280
The Court of Appeal held that the sentences of detention in a young offender institution under section 262(1)(a) of the Sentencing Act 2020 imposed on the defendant were unlawful, because such sentences are only available where the offender is aged 18 or over at the date of conviction, which the applicant was not.
The decision addresses the correct sentencing regime for a defendant who turns 18 between conviction and sentence, confirming that for qualifying offences the appropriate sentence is one of detention under section 250 of the Sentencing Act 2020.
Details
The applicant was sentenced on 7 April 2025 in the Crown Court for several offences, including robbery, possession of a bladed article, wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, and assault against an emergency worker. Notably, the applicant was aged 17 at the time of conviction but had turned 18 by the date of sentencing. The sentences that were imposed were all sentences of detention in a young offender institution under section 262. No separate penalty was imposed in respect of two further offences: a further assault against an emergency worker and an offence of racially aggravated harassment.
During sentencing, neither the prosecution, defence, nor the sentencing judge appreciated that there was any difficulty with the applicant receiving sentences of detention in a young offender institution and no one raised the question of whether the sentences should instead have been imposed under section 250 of the Sentencing Act 2020.
The Court of Appeal held that the sentences of detention in a young offender institution were unlawful because section 262(1)(a) of the Sentencing Act 2020 makes clear that sentences of detention in a young offender institution are only available where an offender is over the age of 18 at the time of conviction, which the applicant was not. Instead, the Court held that the applicant should have been sentenced under section 250 of the Sentencing Act 2020.
Section 250 applies in relation to certain offences listed in section 249(1) of the same Act, which trigger the power to impose long-term detention. It can be used where neither a youth rehabilitation order nor a detention and training order is suitable. For qualifying offences - including offences not fixed by law and punishable in the case of a person aged 21 or over with imprisonment for 14 years or more (such as robbery and wounding with intent to do great bodily harm) - the correct sentence is one of detention under section 250.