A Pembroke man currently serving 24 years for armed robbery and sexual assault has tried to get the term reduced in the Court of Appeal.

Anthony Ricardo Richardson, 24, was sentenced in May after pleading guilty to the attack on a visiting Canadian Senator and an Ontario couple in August 1996.

At his trial the jury heard how Richardson entered the house while it was empty but encountered the three visitors when they returned home.

He pleaded guilty to robbery and forcing the woman to perform a sexual act on him and was sentenced to 24 years for the sexual assault and three concurrent ten year terms for each of the robberies.

But at the Court of Appeal yesterday a lawyer representing Richardson argued that the sentence had been too harsh.

Ms Elizabeth Christopher claimed a trial in the UK in 1986 should have been used as a sentencing guideline in the Richardson case.

"In this case we should be looking at eight years as the starting point and, with aggravating circumstances, 11 years is the appropriate finishing point for the sexual assault,'' she said.

Ms Christopher also argued that six years would be a more appropriate sentence for the three counts of robbery. She also asked that any sentence for the robberies should run concurrently since all incidents took place on the same day.

"If you look closely you will see that in this case there were three victims who were confronted with a man who had entered a dwelling that was unoccupied at the time,'' she said.

"He was hungry, homeless and broke. When he got confronted he appeared frustrated and uncertain about what to do with the three people.

"But he did consider phoning the Police after he left. That provides a certain taint to the evidence, i.e. that he was not without concern.'' Court of Appeal President Sir James Astwood said: "Each jurisdiction has its own criteria and will deal with it in its own way.'' Representing the Crown, Ms Charlene Scott, said: "The sentence was not manifestly harsh or excessive in the circumstances.''