Raymond Ellis: Police reveal why Sheffield sex attacker's sentence had to be increased

Raymond Ellis, aged 63, was brought to justice in May after a brutal attack and sexual assault on a girl in Sheffield in 1987.

He was sentenced to five years in prison, but judges at London’s Court of Appeal extended his sentence following an appeal by Attorney General Suella Braverman MP and Ellis will now spend seven and a half years behind bars.

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South Yorkshire Police have expressed their relief after launching an appeal based on their belief that Ellis’ sentence was too lenient.

Dave Stopford, head of SYP’s major incident review team said: “Thanks to advancements in forensic technology, the dogged determination of the officers and staff working within the MIRT, and the support of specialist scientists, we were able to identify Ellis and bring him before the courts earlier this year.

“Ellis’ victim has had to live with what happened to her since she was 17 years old. For more than 30 years, she didn’t know who her attacker was.”

“We felt strongly that the sentence passed did not adequately convey the severity of Ellis’ crime, nor did it feel like justice for the victim. She has had to live with the trauma of being sexually assaulted for three decades, whereas Ellis would spend only a fraction of that time behind bars.”

On Friday the court heard that the victim’s life had been “blighted” by the senseless and heinous attack.

Lady Justice Carr said “the conduct here was at the very highest level” for an indecent assault as it was a sustained attack involving both the use and threat of violence.

The court was told that the victim has become “a shell of herself” since.

According to her witness statement she takes anti-depressants sleeps poorly.

Ellis, who was living in Bristol when he was identified, was brought to justice 30 years after committing the crime due to advancements in forensic technology that saw his DNA linked to a semen stain left on the victim’s jacket.

The court ruled that Ellis should serve 10 years in prison, the maximum sentence for indecent assault.

This has been reduced by 25 per cent to seven-and-a-half years on account of his guilty plea.