The family of a Bradford teenage girl raped four times by a paedophile today said he should have been jailed for life.

George Bates, 48, a married father of two, was convicted of 15 sex offences against the teenager in a horrifying catalogue of abuse outlined to Bradford Crown Court in February.

The Court of Appeal yesterday increased the seven-year jail term he received to 11 years but relatives, who had condemned the first sentence as being too lenient, still believe it is not enough.

The girl's 36-year-old mother, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, said: "We wanted him to get life. I hope he dies in jail and never comes out.

"My daughter will be glad the sentence has gone up.

"The abuse went on from when she was seven until when she was 14. The doctor has said it will take her a long time to recover, any little trigger can trigger it off."

Bates, who moved from Bradford to Wallsend, Newcastle-upon-Tyne six years ago, was convicted of a sickening catalogue of abuse including four rapes, a serious sexual assault, three threats to kill, two offences of indecency with a child, gross indecency, two indecent assaults, and physical assault.

Although his sentences added up to a total of almost 60 years, the judge at Bradford Crown Court had ordered them to run concurrently which led to the seven year jail term.

But three judges sitting at the Court of Appeal yesterday decided to increase the sentence to 11 years after an application by the Attorney General, John Morris QC.

Agreeing that the sentence was inadequate, Mr Justice Douglas Brown, sitting with Lord Justice Rose and Mr Justice Potts, said that the attack had had a traumatic effect on the girl who had since been in and out of psychiatric hospitals.

"This was an unduly lenient sentence in a particularly bad case," he said.

A spokesman for the Eccleshill Child Protection team which investigated the case applauded the decision, adding: "I remember the police officer involved with this case being absolutely aghast at the time of the sentencing. We are obviously very pleased that the Court of Appeal have agreed with us and the Crown Prosecution Service that in relation to the offences committed, it deserves a higher sentence."

Paedophile dilemma - P12

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