Sentencing Framework for Non-Fatal Strangulation and the Statutory Domestic Abuse Aggravator

Introduction

King v Darryl Haughey ([2025] NICA 10) is a landmark Court of Appeal decision addressing sentencing for the new offence of non-fatal strangulation (“NFS”) under section 28 of the Justice (Sexual Offences and Trafficking Victims) Act (NI) 2022, and clarifying how to apply the statutory domestic abuse aggravator (section 15 of the Domestic Abuse and Civil Proceedings Act (NI) 2021). The appellant pleaded guilty to four offences arising from a prolonged domestic assault on his partner, including one count of NFS, one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm (AOABH), one count of threatening to kill, and one count of criminal damage. In the absence of local sentencing guidelines for NFS and uncertainty about the proper methodology for the domestic abuse uplift, the appeal raised questions about:

How to determine an appropriate starting point for NFS in Northern Ireland;
Whether comparative case law from other jurisdictions is instructive;
The sequence and mechanics of applying plea reductions and the domestic abuse aggravator;
Whether the trial judge double-counted certain aggravating factors.

Summary of the Judgment

The Court of Appeal, unanimously led by Treacy LJ, dismissed the appeal. It held that:

A starting point of 36 months’ imprisonment for NFS assessed as “medium harm” is appropriate in Northern Ireland’s statutory regime (maximum 14 years).
Comparative decisions from England & Wales and New Zealand are of limited assistance because their maximum penalties and legislative intents differ markedly.
Evidence of loss of consciousness is not required to establish high or medium harm: NFS carries inherent physical and psychological risk even without visible injuries.
Repeated application of force to the neck during a single offending episode can be treated as a single continuous assault for sentencing, without legal error.
The sentencing judge did not double-count previous courses and convictions; each aggravated the appellant’s culpability for distinct reasons.
Pleas should normally attract a maximum one-third reduction unless exceptional circumstances warrant more; no such circumstances existed here.
The statutory domestic abuse aggravator must be treated as a discrete uplift after calculating the plea-reduced sentence, ensuring that deterrent measures for domestic violence remain intact.
While the trial judge applied the aggravator before the plea discount, the Court recommended reversing that sequence going forward — but declined to alter the appellant’s sentence given the absence of binding guidelines at the time of sentencing.

Analysis

Precedents Cited

R v BM [2023] NICC 5: An attempted choking in the context of an attempted rape under the 1861 Act carried life imprisonment. The Court found it of limited relevance given the different statutory framework and maximum penalties.

R v Cook [2023] EWCA Crim 452: An English NFS case under a five-year maximum. Again, distinctions in maximum penalty and legislative purpose meant limited assistance for Northern Ireland.

R v Stewart [2017] NICA 1: Established the conventional sentencing methodology—identify the lead offence, assess starting point on culpability and harm, adjust for aggravating/mitigating factors, then apply plea discount.

R v Hutchinson [2022] NICA 55 and R v Hughes [2022] NICA 12: Highlighted Northern Ireland’s firm stance against domestic violence and affirmed that high sentences signal society’s condemnation and act as deterrents.

Campbell & Allen [2020] NICA 25: Clarified the ordinary meaning of “strangulation” as external pressure on the neck causing asphyxia, thereby informing the sentencing judge’s appreciation of the cruelty inherent in NFS.

Legal Reasoning

1. Starting Point for NFS: The Court recognized the legislative intent behind a 14-year maximum: to deter dangerous domestic violence. A 36-month starting point for medium harm reflects that intent and the psychological and internal physical risks that NFS carries, even absent visible injury.

2. Comparative Jurisdictions: Although instructive on the harms of strangulation, English and New Zealand case law was subordinated to local legislative policy and the Assembly’s chosen maximum penalty.

3. Harm Assessment: The Court rejected the notion that loss of consciousness or visible marks are prerequisites for medium or high harm. It endorsed research (e.g., Centre for Women’s Justice evidence) demonstrating long-term physical and psychological effects of choking.

4. Repeating Strangulation: Even if only one count of NFS remained after plea discussions, repeated application of force to the neck within a single episode can still aggravate culpability through sustained terror and coercion.

5. Aggravating Factors and Double Counting: Prior convictions for violence and participation in intervention programmes are distinct considerations: one speaks to a pattern of domestic offending, the other to lack of progress despite prior interventions.

6. Plea Reduction: A one-third maximum discount remains the norm unless an appellant brings forward exceptional circumstances, which were absent here.

7. Statutory Domestic Abuse Aggravator: Introduced by section 15 of the 2021 Act, it must be recorded separately and treated as an independent uplift after plea discount. This preserves the full deterrent impact of the domestic abuse component.

Impact

Provides the first local benchmark for sentencing NFS at medium harm—36 months before discounts and aggravators.
Affirms the legislative policy to treat domestic violence, especially strangulation, with robust deterrent sentences.
Clarifies that judges should apply plea reductions before adding the domestic abuse uplift to preserve its full effect.
Signals that Northern Ireland courts will not lightly import foreign sentencing ranges where local maximums and Assembly intent differ.
Guides future judges on avoiding double counting and on the discrete recording obligations under section 15(4) of the 2021 Act.

Complex Concepts Simplified

Lead Offence: The single most serious charge to which a starting point is applied—here, non-fatal strangulation.

Starting Point: A baseline sentence calculated by reference to the nature of the offence, harm caused, and offender’s culpability—before adjustments.

Plea Reduction: A discount (up to one-third) off the starting point to reward early, unequivocal admissions of guilt.

Statutory Domestic Abuse Aggravator: A mandatory uplift in sentence when an offence involves domestic abuse, to be recorded and explained separately.

Medium vs High Harm: Categories reflecting the severity of injury and trauma. Medium may include non-visible but significant physical and psychological harm; high involves very severe or life-threatening consequences.

Double Counting: The improper practice of punishing the same feature twice in different guises—avoided here by distinguishing prior record from failure to reform despite intervention courses.

Conclusion

King v Haughey establishes a clear sentencing framework for non-fatal strangulation in Northern Ireland and formalizes the method for applying the statutory domestic abuse aggravator. It confirms:

A 36-month starting point for medium-harm NFS, reflecting local legislative aims.
The primacy of local sentencing policy over foreign comparators.
The sequence of: calculate starting point → apply plea discount → add domestic abuse uplift.
The necessity of treating domestic abuse as a standalone aggravator to preserve its full deterrent effect.

This decision fills a critical gap in Northern Ireland’s sentencing guidelines, providing bench and bar with principled guidance on tackling the “scourge” of domestic violence manifesting in non-fatal strangulation.