AN ALVECHURCH rapist has lost his appeal to reduce his sentence and has been hit with nearly two more years to serve after the judge found his original six year jail term ‘unduly lenient’.
Steven Hearl, from Birmingham, was convicted in November last year for raping a 16-year-old girl in 1987, alongside a charge for burglary.
The 63-year-old attacked the teenager as she was walking along a footpath by Alvechurch Station. She became aware of a noise behind and looked behind when Hearl placed his hands over her eyes, so she could not identify him. He pushed her through a gap in the hedge and into a nearby field where he carried out the assault.
Advances in DNA technology led to his arrest and sentence which he has so far served three months of.
The Royal Courts of Justice in London heard Hearl’s case on Wednesday and decided to increase his prison sentence by one year and eight months.
A victim of rape or sexual assault can get help and support even if they don’t want to go to police by self referring to a Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC). For information visit the Get Help page of the Stop Rape Now website www.stoprapenow.co.uk
