The Court of Criminal Appeal (CCA) has varied prison sentences imposed last year on a serial rapist who assaulted three women in vicious attacks in Dublin.
The three judge CCA ruled that the effective five-year sentences imposed on each count to run consecutively, making a total of 15 years, was inadequate.
However, it instead directed that sentences of ten, 12 and 15 years be imposed on all three counts, but that they run concurrently, meaning the duration of the sentence remains unchanged.
Salman Aslam Dar (25) a computer science student from Lahore, Pakistan, was originally sentenced to three consecutive prison sentences of seven years, with the final two years of each term suspended
He had pleaded to the attacks between February and June 2004 in Dublin city at the Central Criminal Court.
But today the CCA, granted an application by the DPP to vary the sentences and imposed a term of 10 years for the first attack, 12 for the second attack and 15 for the third rape.
Mr Justice Nicholas Kearns, presiding, said the court would have been tempted to increase the sentences but took into account counsel for Dar, Mr Felix Mc Enroy SC's contention that his client had made an unqualified undertaking that he would leave the jurisdiction when his prison term is served.
It was necessary to recognise the horrific nature of the assaults and to reflect the abhorrence of the court and all members of society at the offences, Mr Justice Kearns said.
"All three of these victims were horrifically damaged as a result of these vicious assaults of the worst kind imaginable," the judge said.
Dar had separately attacked three women, a Mexican (23), a 23-year-old Polish woman and an Irish woman (29), as they walked home by themselves in the early hours.
He had an address at Abbey View, Ballyhaunis, Co Mayo at the time of the assaults.
He was arrested two days after he attacked his third victim in June 2004.
The Central Criminal Court was told that the first of Dar's victims was subjected to an assault that involved oral rape in a car park near the Phoenix Park.
The second victim was attacked at apartments in Brunswick St North while the third victim was attacked and raped at Jervis St.
The court heard that the three women suffered numerous physical injuries as a result of the assaults and that Dar smoked a cigarette after attacking the third victim who was left naked while he threatened that he would kill her.
Yesterday, Mr McEnroy told the CCA that both he and the prosecution agreed that the 15 years sentence was an appropriate sentence.
Mr Justice Kearns said the DDP's application was "somewhat unusual" saying it concerned the manner in which the sentence was structured by the trial judge but that there was no difference with regard to the totality of the sentence.