A Leeds man who repeatedly assaulted his partner’s daughter and then attacked another woman’s baby will be jailed for longer after the Solicitor General, Rt Hon Michael Ellis QC MP, referred his sentence for being too low.
Luke Flynn, 27 at the time of the offences in 2017, had been in a relationship with a woman, who had a baby daughter from a previous relationship.
At times during their relationship, the woman had left her baby alone with Mr Flynn. When she noticed that her baby appeared unwell, the woman took her daughter to hospital. The doctors noted her child had extensive injuries, including at least 19 fractures in her arms, legs, and ribs, as well as widespread bruising. These were deliberate injuries which had been inflicted by the offender on at least two occasions.
Flynn was arrested and released on bail. His relationship with the woman ended and he started seeing another woman, who had a severely disabled baby daughter.
In September 2017 Flynn visited the woman’s home and was briefly left alone with the baby while her mother checked on her car. As she reached the car she heard a loud scream and rushed back to the house.
The offender left and the woman noticed her daughter had a red eye and swollen lip. The offender had deliberately attacked the baby, punching her in the face, as well as causing fractures in both legs.
Flynn was arrested again on 14 September 2017. He was found guilty of two counts of grievous bodily harm with intent and one count of actual bodily harm with intent.
On 4 February 2020 Flynn was originally sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment at Leeds Crown Court. Following the Solicitor General’s intervention under the Unduly Lenient Sentence Scheme, the Court of Appeal today increased his sentence to 15 years’ imprisonment.
Speaking after the hearing the Solicitor General said:
The actions of the offender in deliberately attacking and targeting vulnerable children in such a brutal manner are truly sickening. I hope that this increased sentence brings some comfort to the families of the victims and reassures them that justice has been done.
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