A DRUG-abusing dad who attacked four children with a hammer before crashing a car into the side of a pub at 90mph has been handed an extra ten years behind bars by judges convinced his initial sentence was too soft.
Owen Peter Scott was jailed for 28 years in February after pleading guilty to four counts of attempted murder, and was told he must serve a minimum of 14 years before being considered for parole.
But solicitor general Robert Buckland argued his minimum term was unduly lenient for the crime Scott had committed and on Wednesday the case was considered by senior judges at London’s Court of Appeal.
The judges agreed, and Scott’s minimum jail term was increased to 24 years.
Scott, 29, of Fawley, Hampshire, had apparently been in the Barnsley area by chance on August last year as he drove around the country with the children in the car.
He drove into a wall at the Travellers Inn on the A629 at Oxspring travelling at about 92mph.
He made no attempt to stop or brake and left the children in the car, who were aged eight, seven, 21 months and nine-months at the time, with either serious or life-threatening injuries.
It later became apparent that the horrendous injuries they had sustained had been caused by a hammer found in the car after the collision.
He was said to have been in a temporary psychotic state - brought on by cocaine use - and believed he was being pursued by an ‘evil gang’ before inflicting up to five blows with a hammer to the heads of each of the children.
He was seen by an off duty police officer to accelerate on the A629 before ploughing into the wall.
Despite the speed of the impact, Scott escaped the wreck with only minor injuries but emergency services found the four children, three of his own and his former partner’s daughter, all severely injured.
The severity of the injuries and lifelong impact the incident will have on the children was put to three senior judges at the Court of Appeal.
His total sentence has been increased to 48 years and he will now be required to serve at least 24 years behind bars before being considered for release.
Detective Chief Inspector David Stopford, the senior investigation officer, who at the time described the case as one of the most harrowing he had ever worked on, is pleased Scott has had his sentence significantly extended.
“Scott was in a position of trust with those children, he grossly abused that, subjecting them to an utterly horrendous ordeal that has had lifelong impacts on them both physically and mentally.
“While I was pleased with the initial sentence, the significant increase today certainly reflects just how horrific Scott’s actions were on that day.
“This case affected so many people, from the children to family members and those who worked on it, including police officers and hospital workers and I’m pleased that Scott will now have to serve longer before being considered for release.”
