General view of the Royal Courts of Justice
(Picture: PA Archive)A man who originally avoided jail after raping a 12-year-old girl should be detained for three years, judges have now ruled.
Jachin Mascall, now aged 20, first encountered the girl from south London on Tinder in 2021 and the pair exchanged phone numbers, the Court of Appeal was told.
They met in London last May and spent 36 hours together when they “engaged in sexual activity” in a car park and at two railway stations.
Mascall, then aged 19, formerly of Dunstable in Bedfordshire, was later arrested.
He told police that he believed at all times the victim was over the age of consent.
Later Mascall pleaded guilty to three counts of rape of a child under 13 at Inner London Crown Court in June 2021.
He received a three-year community order which required him to do 200 hours unpaid work, 40 hours rehabilitation activity and 48 sessions of "choices and change" programme.
The sentence was reviewed after Solicitor General Alex Chalk QC took it to the Court of Appeal, arguing it was “unduly lenient”.
In a ruling on Monday, judges agreed the initial sentence was “unduly lenient” and replaced it with a custodial term of 36 months in a young offender institution with a further licence period of one year.
When she and Mascall met, she told him that she was aged 20 and had a car and her own accommodation.
The original sentencing judge described the victim as a “highly vulnerable child” and Mascall as “a young man who is relatively ordinary, immature and possibly rather naive”.
She found there had been no grooming of the victim, there was an “absence of exploitation” and that his belief around her age was “reasonable”, judges said.
However, appeal judges ruled the victim “may have passed herself off as a 20-year-old, but that does not detract from her vulnerability.”
They concluded Mascall’s relationship with her was "opportunistic” and he was "not markedly immature for his years”.
The judges highlighted “significant” aggravating factors in the case, such as the location of the offending.
They said Mascall had spent a substantial period with the victim but did not question her “unlikely account” over why they did not go to her flat and why there was “no sign” of any car.
They said: “What existed here was a culpable lack of responsibility on the part of the offender rather than exploitation in the strict sense. He was 19 whereas [the victim] was 12. He was the person as between the two of them who ought to have exercised responsibility.”
They concluded the Crown Court judge’s sentence “gave insufficient weight to the nature of the offender’s culpability and the aggravating features involved in his conduct towards [the victim]".
Mascall must serve at least one half of his custodial term before being able to apply for parole.
He will receive credit for the time he previously spent on remand and under electronically monitored curfew.
Mascall was ordered to surrender to Luton Police station at 4pm on Monday.
Mr Chalk said after the ruling: “Mascall’s actions have harmed the victim and her family, and his naivety and immaturity are no excuse.
“I welcome the increase today, reflecting the seriousness of his actions.”
