Addressing a lack of high-quality sentencing information in Ireland, this important book explores the factors that influence judges to impose a sentence of long-term imprisonment in sexual offence cases.

Judges have made it clear that sentences of 15 years to life imprisonment are to be reserved for offending that is ‘truly egregious’. Griffin, using over 100 serious sexual offence cases, examines what this means in practice. The book is designed to be used in the classroom and the court, as well as providing a solid evidence base to inform the public and policy discourse on sentencing.