RAPISTS who were spared jail for their crimes are now behind bars after their sentences were increased.

Sentences passed by judges in Sussex were found to be unduly lenient on six occasions in the last year.

But these were challenged and tougher punishments have now been handed to four rapists, a drug dealer and a woman who perverted the course of justice.

They are some of a record number of sentences which were challenged across the country in a bid to get justice for victims.

In three of these cases, criminals who escaped an immediate custodial sentence last year were then jailed when some of the country’s most senior judges decided the punishment was insufficient for the crime.

The news comes as just last week the Court of Appeal increased another rapist’s sentence – the third

successful Sussex sentence review reported so far this year.

Tony Monery is now behind bars for 15 years as opposed to ten. Homophobic attackers Gage Vye-Parminter and Matthew Howes have now been sentenced to seven years each as opposed to five years and four months in a young offenders’ institute.

Drug dealer Damien George, the right-hand man in a prolific network, was one of the high-profile criminals to have his sentenced increased last year.

The 20-year-old was prosecuted after police watched him during a seven-month operation where he was observed casually waving a huge knife outside a block of flats in broad daylight in Brighton.

George, of South Park Drive, Ilford, Essex, had his sentence of five years and eight months increased by two years.

Hayley Carter’s lies caused an innocent man to spend five months in prison awaiting trial because she gave a false statement about a drugs raid to police.

The 23-year-old, of Turners Hill Road, Crawley Down, was originally handed an 18-month community order for perverting the course of justice but this was upgraded to a year behind bars.

HGV driver Christopher Twiner, 58, of Friends Close, Langley Green, had his suspended 24-month jail sentence for rape upgraded to an immediate six-year prison term.

Samuel Warren, 24, formerly of Newhaven, was jailed for two and a half years for raping a woman in her sleep instead of a suspended sentence.

Roger Bishop, 59, was initially jailed for three years and six months for rape and this was increased by two years.

A 16-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had his three-year jail term for rape increased to five years.

Two other sentences which were appealed against, one for rape and one for indecent assault, remained unchanged.

RISE IN NUMBER OF COURT DECISIONS BEING QUESTIONED

THE Attorney General’s office has had a 17 per cent increase in requests to challenge sentencing decisions in the last year.

Attorney General Jeremy Wright QC and his second-in-command, the Solicitor General Robert Buckland QC, are also taking more cases to the Court of Appeal to be reviewed.

Mr Buckland particularly said the effect of sexual offences on victims “cannot be underestimated” and it was “essential” the crimes were appropriately punished.

The office has continued to successfully challenge sentences this year: Tony Monery was jailed for ten years in May for a string of sex crimes but Court of Appeal judges decided he should be behind bars for 15 instead. The 56-year-old salesman from Swanfield Drive, Chichester, was jailed for seven counts of indecent assault, one attempted rape and one rape between 1999 and 2001 in Worthing against a girl he knew, who was aged between 12 and 15 at the time.

Gage Vye-Parminter and Matthew Howes, both 19 and of Breydon Walk, and Weald Drive, Crawley, respectively, were told in March their sentences for beating up gay couple Dain Finney and James Loxton on Brighton seafront would be increased to seven years from the original five years and four months in a young offenders’ institute.

From August victims and the public will also be able to challenge the punishments handed out for terror offences.