April 2015 Child rapist who abused four young boys has his sentence slashed on appeal A Darlington teenager who was jailed for raping a young boy and abusing three more has had his sentence slashed on appeal. Mark Anthony Smith, 19, preyed on the four boys, subjecting them to vile sexual abuse and raping one of them when he himself was still only 17. Last November, he was jailed for nine years and four months at Teesside Crown Court for ten sexual assaults and one rape. But yesterday, (Thursday, April 16) three senior judges at the Court of Appeal said the sentence was ‘manifestly excessive’ and slashed it to seven years. At Smith’s original hearing, the court heard that he committed the abuse after watching similar acts on YouTube and had searched the internet for “naked children”, “kids in the bath” and “kids on X-Factor”. An impact statement by one of the victim’s mothers told how the abuse had a “massive” impact on her family and made her a “nervous wreck” who felt like she had failed to protect her children. However, at the Court of Appeal, Mr Justice William Davis said the original sentence did not properly reflect the troubles which Smith has in his own life. The court heard that the rape was ‘very short-lived’ and not part of a sustained course of conduct and Smith’s barrister, Joanne Kidd, argued the teenager’s mitigation and young age was not fully reflected in the original sentence. She said that the teen, of Park Lane, Darlington, had problems of his own, including suffering from Tourette’s Syndrome, which made him a target for others. The appeal judge, sitting with Lord Justice Elias and Sir John Griffith Williams, cut the overall term to seven years. November 2014 Darlington teenager who raped and abused boy jailed for more than nine years A TEENAGER who groomed young boys before raping and abusing one and sexually assaulting a further three has been jailed for more than nine years. Mark Smith was told by a judge that his crimes – committed when he was aged just 17 – had left his victims traumatised and their families devastated. Smith abused them after watching similar acts on YouTube and searching the internet for “naked children”, “kids in the bath” and “kids on X-Factor”. He admitted sexually assaulting three youngsters and was found guilty of raping and abusing another after a trial at Teesside Crown Court last month. His barrister, Joanne Kidd, said the 18-year-old, from Darlington, has Tourette’s syndrome, is immature and had more in common with young children. Miss Kidd said he had never been aggressive or threatening, and added: “He didn’t do anything above and beyond the commission of the offences to frighten.” She told the judge that the rape was “brief and not persisted with” and said Smith had shown “real remorse” in an interview with a probation officer. Judge Crowson imposed a Sexual Offences Prevention Order which bans Smith from unsupervised contact with under-16s and restricts his computer use. As well as being jailed for nine years and four months, he was put on the sex offenders’ register for life and will banned from working with children. Judge Crowson told Smith: “Although the rape was shortlived, the effect on [the boy] was very long-term, and it’s not just him. It’s his whole family. “Although his mother thinks she is to blame for letting him down somehow, she should not think like that, as it’s not her fault. It was yours.” In an impact statement, the mother said the abuse has had a “massive” impact on the lives of her family, and said: “It has made me a nervous wreck.” She added: “I feel as if I have let my children down, that I didn’t protect them. I am now overly-protective of them. I try to stop them playing out.” Smith, of Park Lane, Darlington, admitted eight charges of sexual assault, and was convicted of a a further two as well as the count of rape.