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| Ian Paterson: Disgraced breast surgeon has sentence increased | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A breast surgeon who intentionally wounded his patients has had his 15-year jail term increased to 20 years. | A breast surgeon who intentionally wounded his patients has had his 15-year jail term increased to 20 years. |
| Ian Paterson, 59, who appeared at the Court of Appeal via video link, was told his current sentence was "not sufficient" to reflect the seriousness and the totality of his offending. | Ian Paterson, 59, who appeared at the Court of Appeal via video link, was told his current sentence was "not sufficient" to reflect the seriousness and the totality of his offending. |
| Paterson was found guilty in May at Nottingham Crown Court of 17 counts of wounding with intent. | Paterson was found guilty in May at Nottingham Crown Court of 17 counts of wounding with intent. |
| Jurors also convicted him of three further wounding charges. | Jurors also convicted him of three further wounding charges. |
| 'Brutal and sustained' | |
| Explaining the decision to increase his jail term, one of the three Appeal Court judges - Lady Justice Hallett - told Paterson his victims had been, "left feeling violated and vulnerable". | |
| She described his treatment of patients as "brutal and sustained". | |
| "They have lost their trust in others, particularly some in the medical profession," she said. | |
| "Some have experienced long-term psychological effects." | |
| That decision has been met with some satisfaction by Ian Paterson's victims who have come to the Court of Appeal today. | |
| They were hoping for at least 20 years when he was sentenced to 15 years in Nottingham at the end of May. They felt that day, that whilst they were glad he had gone to prison, that he should have been sent to prison for longer. | |
| Paterson has appeared via video link from Nottingham Prison. He was taking notes and shaking his head occasionally. | |
| Lady Justice Hallett said the Appeal Court judges had to impose a "just and proportionate sentence". | |
| The judges found the exercise difficult but they did think the original sentence had been unduly lenient. | |
| They said there had been a breach of trust and an abuse of power and took into account the vulnerability of the patients - some of whom were under his care for a decade or more. | |
| She said ultimately the 15-year sentence just was not long enough, given the totality of all of those factors. | |
| Paterson, of Altrincham, Greater Manchester, was jailed in May following a seven-week trial trial. | |
| However the case was referred to the Court of Appeal by Solicitor General Robert Buckland. | |
| Mr Buckland argued that Paterson's offending was "so serious and so exceptional" that a jail term "significantly higher" than 15 years was required. |