Man who repeatedly raped schoolgirl on live webcam tried to claim he’d been treated harshly
He thought his 22-year sentence was too severe
A “committed paedophile” caged for horrific sex crimes against a schoolgirl he treated “like some animal” richly deserved his 22-year sentence.
David Hart subjected his vulnerable victim to repeated sex attacks when she was as young as 11, even involving her in a sick act of bestiality.
He also shared video footage of his perverted acts with like-minded perverts on the web, Mr Justice Spencer told London’s Appeal Court.
“These offences were among the most serious of their kind that one can imagine,” the judge added.
Hart, 61, was jailed for 22 years at Swansea Crown Court in September last year after jurors convicted him of 16 charges – 12 of rape, two of indecent assault, one of assault by penetration and one of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
Labelled a “dangerous” offender, Hart, was also ordered to serve three extra years on licence after leaving jail.
His offences included multiple rapes against his young victim and the judge said: “She was subjected to horrific abuse.”
He took one of his victim’s virginity by pinning her up against a stable wall and raping her, and eventually a few hundred people would watch him commit his abuse via an internet chat room.
The schoolgirl suffered “severe psychological harm”, and the trial judge said Hart had treated her “like some animal”.
When the jury was considering its verdict in the case Hart was admitted to Swansea’s Morriston Hospital and subsequently had to be re-arrested having disappeared from the wards.
Hart, of Morriston, Swansea, challenged his sentence in the Appeal Court, claiming it was far too harsh and should be cut.
But Mr Justice Spencer, sitting with two other judges, ruled his punishment fair and described Hart as a “committed paedophile”.
His victim had suffered terribly at his hands, before finally “plucking up the courage” to go to the authorities.
The judge refused Hart permission to appeal against sentence, branding his challenge “totally without merit”.
https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/local-news/man-who-repeatedly-raped-schoolgirl-14579874