Predator who dragged girl into bushes and raped her has indefinite jail sentence quashed

A man who raped a teenage girl in bushes in Greater Manchester has had his indefinite jail sentence quashed at the Court of Appeal. Stuart O'Neill was convicted aged 20 at Manchester Crown Court and sentenced under the imprisonment for public protection (IPP) scheme, which was abolished in 2012. He is one of a number of convicted men to have had their indeterminate jail sentences quashed after they spent 'many years beyond' their minimum terms, the Criminal Cases Review Commission has said. O'Neill, originally from Salford, pounced on the girl on an estate in Wythenshawe in April 2009. The court heard he grabbed her, dragged her into bushes then raped her. A passer-by intervened and she managed to escape, reports the Manchester Evening News . He was convicted of rape by a jury in November 2009 after a five-day trial and at a sentencing hearing, where he was branded a "danger to the public", he was given an indeterminate sentence for public protection. The men's cases were referred by the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) to the Court of Appeal in London, where their lawyers argued that the original sentencing decisions did not take into account their age and immaturity. In a ruling on Thursday, O’Neill’s sentence was replaced with one of eight years in custody and eight on licence. Dame Vera Baird KC, chairwoman of the CCRC, said: "I welcome the Court of Appeal’s decision in all these cases. The decision to refer three of these men’s sentences followed careful and detailed reviews by the commission.” The now-defunct IPP and DPP schemes were applied to people the court deemed to be dangerous to the public, where prisoners would have to serve a minimum term known as a tariff before being eligible for release. At the time of the original sentencing, O'Neill was told he must serve at least four years before he can apply for any parole. Dame Vera said: "All the men were very young at the time they were sentenced and have spent many years beyond their original tariffs in custody. The court's judgements reflect the importance of properly considering age and maturity when imposing sentences of this nature." The court also quashed the sentences of Benjamin Hibbert, Jay Davis, Jerry Tolbert, Jordan Webster and Dwayne McLaren, who were also young at the time of committing their offence, the CCRC said. The detention for public protection (DPP) scheme, now also abolished alongside IPP, applied to under 18s. Despite both types of sentences being abolished, current IPP and DPP prisoners have not been freed from the terms imposed on them before abolition. Dame Vera said: "We will continue to examine other IPP and DPP cases, and I encourage anyone who believes their sentence may have been affected – and who has exhausted their appeal rights – to apply to the commission. I hope today’s decision gives hope to the many families with loved ones who remain in prison way beyond their original tariff."