Man who filmed rape of woman has sentence increased

A man who filmed himself raping a vulnerable woman after a night out has had his six-year sentence increased after senior judges ruled it was unduly lenient.

Gagandeep Gulati sent videos he took of the attack, in Castle Gardens in Leicester last September, to others before telling police he was the one who had been raped and sexually assaulted by the victim.

The 20-year-old was convicted of rape, assault by penetration, sexual assault and sharing or threatening to share an intimate photograph or film, and sentenced at Leicester Crown Court in March.

However, the Court of Appeal increased that to nine years following a hearing on Thursday.

The case was referred by Solicitor General Lucy Rigby under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme.

The court also imposed concurrent sentences for the assault by penetration and sexual assault of four years and six months respectively.

It further ruled the offence of sharing or threatening to share an intimate photograph or film would be quashed, because it was incorrectly tried in a crown court, instead treating the filming as an aggravating feature of the rape.

Lord Justice Popplewell, one of a panel of three judges, said Gulati's motive for taking videos of the attack was "seeking to give the false impression of consent", which was a "significant aggravating factor".

He concluded that the original sentence "was not merely lenient, but unduly so".

The judge said Gulati, then aged 19, encountered his victim in Leicester city centre on 23 September as they both made their way home from nights out.

He took the woman, who was intoxicated, to a secluded location in the park and attacked her.

After his arrest, Gulati, then studying business at university in the city, told police: "She forced me, I did not force her. I am a religious person. I did not do anything wrong."

Lord Justice Popplewell said Gulati told police that his victim forced herself on him, and that he had considered reporting her to the authorities.

Gulati also suggested that the videos he took showed "he was afraid for his life at the time of the activity", the judge said.

After being convicted, the sentencing judge said that Gulati filming the attack was "nothing more than a cynical and contrived attempt to protect himself" and showed him "boasting of his predatory sexual prowess".

After the hearing, the Solicitor General Lucy Rigby welcomed the increased sentence.

"Gagandeep Gulati's rape of a vulnerable young woman before sharing his awful crimes with other people was sickening," she added.

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