Judge named as being too lenient

The judge is now retired

A crown court judge covering Devon and Cornwall has been singled out for passing unduly lenient sentences for the second year in a row.

Judge Jeffrey Rucker was named in the annual review of sentences published by the office of the Attorney General.

It revealed that the Court of Appeal twice doubled sentences he had handed down in 2007.

One case concerned the rape and sexual assault of a child under 13. Judge Rucker has since retired.

Increased sentences

Sitting at Exeter Crown Court the judge sentenced the defendant in the underage rape case to two years in prison.

The Court of Appeal later doubled the sentence to four years.

The other case, heard at Truro Crown Court, concerned the possession and supply of class A drugs and the possession of a prohibited weapon.

Again Judge Rucker sentenced the defendant to two years in prison, again this was doubled by the Court of Appeal.

'Disappointing' results

In 2006 a sentence he passed in an indecent assault case in Truro was more than doubled.

Steve Tovagliari from the Police Federation said unduly lenient sentences were disheartening: "We're really very disappointed, both for the police officers and members of the public.

"The police officers carry out a very important role putting a lot of work, time and effort into putting offenders before the courts.

"The members of the public, who are the witnesses and the aggrieved, feel that they've not been properly respected... throughout the whole process."

A statement on behalf of Judge Rucker said sentencing decisions were rarely straightforward, many judges dealt with a very large number of cases, and not every decision by the Court of Appeal was a criticism of judges as it may reflect new sentencing guidelines [instead].

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