Window Cleaner Jailed

Matthew Taylor Saturday October 13, 2007 The Guardian Two men jailed for the rape of young girls had their prison sentences doubled by the court of appeal yesterday after judges agreed with the attorney general, Lady Scotland, that their original jail terms had been "unduly lenient". Window cleaner Keith Fenn and chef Simon Foster had both been sentenced to two years for the rape of girls aged 10 and 12 respectively. But yesterday appeal court judges in London gave both men new sentences of four years following an appeal brought by the attorney general. Article continues Yesterday the court heard that Fenn had been sentenced in June at Oxford crown court after admitting two charges of rape. He said he had genuinely believed the girl was 16 after she approached him and a friend and asked them for a cigarette. Foster was jailed at Exeter crown court - also in June - after he admitted a series of sexual offences against a 12-year-old girl, including two counts of rape. The appeal judges were told that both girls, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, appeared older than their years. Lord Justice Latham told the court: "A child under 13 cannot give consent in law to any sexual activity. And the offender's belief in the age of the child, even if reasonably held, is irrelevant."